Edible School Gardens:
Mamquam Edible School Yard (MESY)
In 2015 we built the Mamquam Edible School Yard Project (MESY). This includes 30 raised beds, a garden shed, vertical garden, water taps, friendship benches, pollinator hotel, pollinator garden and a “Bee to Seed” pollination and seed saving/sale program.
In 2018 we added a 20ft x 40ft greenhouse to the site. At one end is an “outdoor classroom” that students and teachers can use year-round. It enables us to have an earlier start on the season and to grow more heat-loving plants through the summer.
Each classroom and local daycares care for a garden plot. The students garden with our educators once or twice a week during the growing season. They learn how to prepare the soil, seed, weed, transplant, mulch, water, harvest, and eat and preserve the bounty. They take an active role in deciding what, where, and when they want to plant certain plants. During the winter, students participate in a variety of activities including: packaging seeds they collected and cleaned in the fall to sell for fundraising, pickling, herbal salve making, and more!
Special thank you to the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation Envirofund for their generous support towards purchasing and installing the Living Lab shipping container, which serves as a landmark for the garden education program, a central point for Squamish CAN supplies and operational tools, as well as a gathering space for our staff to convene.
Living Lab (retrofitted shipping container) with outdoor water station and permanent roof structure
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Our 20x40 ft greenhouse with outdoor classroom
Nina LaFlamme photography
How MESY Operates
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MESY is made possible in partnership with School District 48, wonderful educators, staff, and parents at Mamquam Elementary, the District of Squamish, and Wildsafe BC.
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Educators (Squamish CAN and Mamquam School) take an interdisciplinary approach with lots of hands-on learning opportunities for their students and community members. We have a wonderful retired teacher and a garden manager who work together to run our gardening activities with the kids.
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A Greenhouse Coordinator does the integral behind the scenes work, from seed starting to running an annual fundraising plant sale, to the weekly market stand, and providing extra care for the bounty of fresh produce grown!
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In summer months we hold a Market Stand with all profits returning to the programming and maintenance of the gardens; many parents and community volunteers help to water and maintain the garden. Surplus produce goes to the volunteers and Helping Hands.
Pollinator Hotel at MESY
Edible Schoolyard
Marissa Carlberg
Greenhouse
Marie-ève Trigg
VEG
Stephanie Heaton
Valleycliffe Elementary Garden (VEG)
In the spring of 2021, Squamish CAN and Valleycliffe Elementary teamed up to bring the school and edible garden program, modelled after MESY.
With generous donations from parents, teachers and the kids, we were able to redo the eight boxes on-site and provide seven of the ten classes with 30 minutes of gardening lessons per week.
Our staff will maintain the project over the summer with the harvest being sold at our weekly farm stand out of Mamquam School as well food will be donated to the Squamish Helping Hands Society.
Thank you to our Sponsors: Windsor Ply
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Thank you to our Funders
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Connecting to nature, creating food security, meeting new people, and getting involved with growing our own food.
To expand and encourage sustainable agriculture and food production in our region
The What, Why and Who within the Sea to Sky region.