Welcome, 'Uy' skweyul, Bienvenu to syuw̓én̓ct Elementary in Nanaimo, BC where students, staff, parents, and the community are stewards of the land.
One late August morning, a parent volunteer was watering syuw̓én̓ct Elementary’s large garden with her three young boys. She spotted a tiny Pacific Tree Frog camouflaged and tucked-in along an unfurling Brussel Sprout leaf sturdily growing from the donated West Coast Seeds students planted during garden lessons that Spring. She snapped a photo then shared it with our Friends and Families social media page. I knew, when I “liked” it on her post, that this is the evidence that gardening magic happens at syuw̓én̓ct Elementary’s garden: lifecycles of the animals and plants are easy to spot along with engaged children, committed staff, supportive families, strong communities, involved organizations, beds of healthy soil to work in and a thriving marsh wetland as a neighbour.
It is with great privilege that we, at syuw̓én̓ct Elementary, work, learn and garden on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples – Snaw Naw As, Snuneymuxw, and Stz’uminus Nations all year long. Students engage in the seasonal rhythms of food growth gardening both small-scale inside their classrooms with LED lights for microgreens, seedling starting and large-scale outside productions in the many schoolyard spaces cleaning, caring, transplanting, direct sowing, weeding and watering. Whew! It’s busy. Classes also participate in important local watershed projects to help protect the surrounding wetland forest that provides water for life. What could be better than making connections between all species (plants and animals alike) needing clean water, food, space, and a little tender, loving care while sitting on a stump next to a tall sunflower at our outdoor tables sampling leafy greens and strawberries from our very own garden while catching a glimpse of a dragonfly buzz by on it’s way back to the marsh?
Our school garden at syuw̓én̓ct Elementary is a dream come true! Students, staff, parents, community members and organizations come together all year long to create a healthy learning environment with heart and soul rooted in food production as well as land stewardship. Our garden space provides food, peace, tranquility, opportunities for games, fun, Science, Math, Reading, Writing, and connecting past, present and future stories. Thanks to West Coast Seeds and all of our supporters, syuw̓én̓ct Elementary grows all year long.