Peter Greer Elementary students are learning about healthy living and sustainability with a unique gardening system.
At the beginning of the 2017/2018 school year, Clint Maltais’s Grade 4/5 class sought to answer the question of “how can we make our school better?”
Initially, the class was interested in getting funding for some garden boxes outside with their thoughts on building a healthier school by being able to grow their own food, according to a press release. When Maltais heard of the tower garden and the ability to grow fresh food 365 days a year, he knew it would answer this question.
Students identified healthy eating as having the greatest opportunity for improvement and an edible garden as having the greatest impact on the most students.
In November 2017, principle James Minkus purchased the tower garden for the school from parent Susan Johnson. Following the step by step instructions, Maltais and the class assembled the tower garden together and prepare the seeds, said the release.
The garden grows faster than a traditional garden and uses less water with no dirt.
“It is indoors so you do not have to worry about the weather, also there is a water filter,” said student Joshua.
Through the tower garden project, students learned how to use aeroponics (a process of growing plants without dirt), like NASA, and used less land and water for their garden compared to traditional growing methods.
“A garden tower is a more tidy way to plant and you can grow many plants in one place,” said student Wes.
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