WHSS ‘Truth About Youth’ garden project to connect students and seniors
May 23, 2018
MOUNT FOREST, Ontario – An exciting new community project is starting to take shape at Wellington Heights Secondary School.
On Wednesday, WHSS held a celebration to officially kick off “The Truth About Youth” community garden project. The project will connect students at the school with seniors in the community, local food banks, community growers, and more. It will also teach the students real-world skills including gardening and carpentry.
The project is an initiative of the school’s Alternative Education Program. Teacher David Griffiths will guide the students as they construct the garden. Griffiths originally wanted to call the initiative “The Bridge Program” as it would build bridges between the youth and seniors in the Mount Forest community. When he proposed the idea to his students, one replied, “I think we should call it ‘The Truth About Youth’ program.” When asked why, he explained that many people look at youth as being loud or rude, but in reality, they are good people and can do good things in the world.
The group of students has already had an amazing year engaging with community members by doing things for others including raking leaves, picking up branches, mulching gardens and shoveling fire hydrants. During a visit the students made to a local seniors home, some of the residents mentioned that they wished they had a place to grow vegetables. It was at that moment that the WHSS community garden project was born.
The garden will feature multiple raised beds on the school grounds and food grown in the garden will be shared with the local food bank, school programs and community growers. The project tackles a variety of issues, ranging from food insecurity to environmental sustainability, while connecting youth and community members in a meaningful way.
The project has already received incredible support from the local businesses and the Horticultural Society. Project sponsors include the Township of Wellington North Council, Kindred Credit Union, Scotiabank, All Treat Farms, Reeves Construction, and the UGDSB Community Connected Experiential Learning Fund. At the May 23 celebration, students, staff and community members were present to officially launch the project.
Categories: News Tags: Experiential Learning