Click on the Thumbprint to access a PDF with photos from the 2008 school year with Little Green Thumbs Saskatchewan.
Information for Prospective Teachers:
Partners and History:
The Little Green Thumbs Saskatchewan program is provided to you by Agriculture in the Classroom Sask (AITC-SK) with funding from Heifer International, Environment Canada: Eco-Action, the Go Green Fund from the Ministry of Environment, and the TD Friends of the Environment Fund. We are very pleased to provide you with information about this exciting program that is committed to the transformation of our young people’s relationship to food. Through our “seed to salad” in-class program, students can participate in the empowering and enriching experience of sowing, growing, harvesting and eating their own vegetables.
In early 2007, AITC partnered with the First Nations Agricultural Council of Saskatchewan to establish the Little Green Thumbs program in 4 schools in Saskatchewan. Today, Little Green Thumbs Saskatchewan is managed by AITC, and has continued to grow in schools across the province. During the 2008/2009 school year, we had 42 Little Green Thumb schools.
We are now accepting applications for classrooms to participate in the program beginning in September 2010 and January 2011.
Indoor Gardening Equipment:
The Little Green Thumbs program will provide your classroom with an indoor garden grow kit, and a vermi-composting kit. The indoor garden grow kit includes a lighting system (grow light, ballast, fan, and reflector), 4 self-watering planters, seeds, pots, and soil. The garden will generally need a 4 x 8 table to accommodate the garden, however if you have more space, the light provides an 8×8 footprint to add other pots. The indoor garden grow kit is given to the school to keep, and should any components need replacement, the school can go through the Little Green Thumbs coordinator to receive replacement parts. The 1000 watt light bulb is the only part that will need replacing, for a cost of around 70$ after 3 years.
Vermi-composting and other Resources:
The second major component of Little Green Thumbs is the introduction of 2lbs of vermi-composting worms in 2 kits to encourage the reduction of food waste in your school. We will also be providing the classroom with resources such as books, posters, in-school activities, classroom sessions with the Little Green Thumbs coordinator, group sharing with other participating schools, and a Teacher’s Workshop to kick start the program. An exciting portion of the project is the celebration event, where schools have the opportunity to involve the community and other participating schools in sharing their experiences and stories about their year’s successes.
Passing on the Gift:
A central component of Little Green Thumbs is its capacity to be self-sustaining and an agreement of “Passing on the Gift” is vital in achieving our vision: A Garden in Every School; A School in Every Garden. We are carefully selecting our schools based on geographical location, willingness to participate, and commitment to meet and evaluate the objectives of the program. The support from the administration and maintenance professional of the school is also very important for the successful implementation of the program; as the light in the grow kit adds an additional $150 per year to the school’s electricity bill.
Teacher’s Workshops:
We are requiring that all participating teachers participate in the Teacher’s Workshop; which will be held on September 11th and 12th, 2009 in Saskatoon. This workshop is imperative for all the teachers to receive hands-on education about the project, demonstrations on how to set up the kit, background on the project and advice from the more experienced teachers, and a great opportunity to meet and discuss with the other teachers in the program. We will provide transportation, meals and if necessary accommodation. Please ensure these criteria can be met in order for your garden to flourish.