We have many schools involved in the Little Green Thumbs program and this year we are very excited to offer more french resources than ever before! This is a photo of the kindergarten class at an all French school in Prince Albert- École Valois.

The students at École Valois are so proud of their garden and their little beans, peas, worms and tomatoes are doing great! They have even been the stars of a newspaper article in the Prince Albert Herald!

Keep up the great work École Valois! Bonne Chance avec tous les plantes!

The Little Green Thumbs Saskatchewan teachers have 5 options for the second classroom presentations:

1. Where does your food come from?
2. Agri “Culture”
3. Amazing Plants
4. Spectacular Seeds
5. Super Veggies

So far, ‘Where does your Food Come From?’ is the most popular.  I love leading this session, as it gets the students to explore our food system in ways that they may know, but have never fully put together!

Classroom Anecdote:
One great moment occurred when we were discussing a can of Green Beans with a group of Kindergarten to grade 3 students.  I asked the students to look for the country that it came from, and they found that this can of Green Beans (just like the ones we grow here in our gardens), came from CHINA!!!

We decided to show the kids how far China is from Canada on a large map, and while we were doing this, a little boy had an ‘Ah Hah’ moment.

“Woah, you’d have to take a boat to get those here!!” he exclaimed.

His teacher and I looked at each other with surprise and amusement at his discovery, and we were so happy that the kids- even at that young age-can put the concepts together.

The other children fed off his enthusiasm and proceeded to name all the ways the food arrives in Canada… Trains, Planes, Cars, Trucks, Ships… which was next on my agenda!

Older students got to work as teams to create a chain of events giving us a visual display of where their food comes from.  Through these exercises, students learn that many foods that come from the grocery store come from far away, and they learn to make informed decisions about where they are getting their food from.  Encouraging students to look at the stickers on their produce to discover if the foods has been produced locally helps our local economy, as well as the environmental costs of transporting the foods.

Well the time of year has finally come for the coordinators to head out to the schools and take a look at the progress so far!  Janelle and I are going to all of the schools that have started this September to help them brainstorm about the environment.  The kids really get engaged in thinking ways that they can help the planet by their own individual actions, and also how they can work as a class to make a difference.  Some great ideas have already come up from the first 3 sessions we have done…

As Individuals We Can:

1. Walk, Ride your Bike, Ride a Scooter, Run, Hop, Skip, Jump, even Take the Bus to School-


This helps to cut down on the Greenhouse Gases that are emitted into the Air when we drive cars, vans, or trucks!

2. Turn off the Water Tap when Brushing Teeth or Washing Hands- This helps to Conserve Water!
3. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3 R’s) clothing, toys, furniture- This helps to keep garbage out of the Land Fill, and also someone who would like to play with our old toys!
4. Have Showers with Low Flow Shower Heads instead of Baths- This also helps to Conserve Water!
5. Try to Keep Plants in your Room- This will help the Air Quality in your Room!
6. Pick Up Litter Wherever you Find It.  If it is Recyclable, put it in the appropriate bin.- This helps to keep Recyclable materials out of the Landfill, and also Cleans up our Neighborhoods

As a Class We Can:

1. Adopt an Animal from the local Zoo- This will give a Living Creature a Great Life!
2. If you Find a Wild Animal, Call the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Saskatchewan.  They have a HOTLINE that you can call to find out what to do with the animal you have found!
3. Turn Off the Lights whenever we leave the Room (Just remember to leave your Grow Light on!!)- This helps to Reduce the Amounts of Electricity We Use.
4. Plant Trees- This is a great thing to do for the Soil, Air, and Living Creatures because it creates Habitat for Animals, Keeps the Soil from Eroding, and Exchanges the Carbon Dioxide into Oxygen!



5. Plant Other Types of Plants in your Gardens, or Outside of the School- Many Schools want to plant Bedding Plants for Mother’s Day and other Fundraisers!
6. Turn Off your Computer in the Classroom at the End of the Day and When you are not Using It- This helps to Conserve Electricity at the School!

Some Classes might also want to think about what they can do as an even bigger community… As A SCHOOL!  Try to brainstorm activities that your class can do to get the whole school engaged in making the environment a healthier, cleaner, and safer place.

Thanks for all of the Great IDEAS!  Please post a comment when you have more Bright Ideas on how YOU can help the Environment by Yourself, and as part of a Community.

Check out this song for some more inspiration!

We Can Make A Difference.wma