'Farm to School' successful in New Brunswick

When it comes to growing fruits and vegetables, New Brunswick schools are top banana.  

Harbour View High School in Saint John was designated a "Farm to School" earlier this month, meaning it teaches students proper food conservation and sustainability with its outdoor classroom.

New Brunswick has 68 Farm to Schools, a disproportionately high number compared to the rest of Canada.

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"I know there are more out there," said Emily Lennon, who runs the outdoor classroom and garden at Harbour View.

"It's just a matter of them being recognized."

Only Manitoba, Quebec and British Columbia have more recognized schools than New Brunswick. 

For Lennon, sustainability and healthy eating are important subjects to teach. She said it sets students up to live healthily for the rest of their lives.

"Supporting local fuels your local economy. It also teaches you conservation methods and best practices in terms of gardening and farming," Lennon said. "And it gets people socializing."

Twelfth grader Zachery Jacquard wants to be a gardener and said the class has taught him life skills he'll never forget.

"This is definitely the most hands-on I've gotten in any class," he said.

Lennon opened the school's outdoor classroom two years ago.

While difficult in the beginning, eventually she transformed Harbour View's rundown greenhouse into a space suitable for learning.

Now, a side-garden has sprouted and she grows lettuce and spinach in her regular classroom.

Whole school benefits

Lennon said the whole school benefits from the work done.

Other classes have incorporated the garden into their lesson plans, like environmental science, who study the plants and the metal and sheathing class that built a fence to keep out deer.

Additionally, she and her class have provided fresh vegetables for school events and some food goes towards filling the student food bank.

"Students come to me, particularly those students more comfortable and close to me, and they ask permission to harvest some vegetables to bring home with them," she said.

Nice to be recognized

For Lennon, it's important the school was designated as a Farm to School, even though they've been promoting this lifestyle for a while.

"It just solidifies what we're doing and what we're doing right," she said. "It's a pat on the back."

While it's relatively inexpensive to run the gardens, Lennon said she couldn't do it without her sponsors who provide her grants .

In the future, Lennon would like to turn her outdoor classroom into a community garden.