Garden Math = Hidden Treasure

Sharpen your pencils!

Q:  What do you get when you add 4 parents, 7 students and 2 hours of work?
Then add 4 loads of free bulbs?!
A:  Surprises are buried in the boulevards - about 200 of them!
Last spring, even in the hail, we put in all kinds of bulbs, free through Green Streets notices.  We have planted a variety of bulbs from Queen Elizabeth Park and City Hall.

The City of Vancouver Green Streets Program has about 500 roundabouts and traffic bulges throughout Vancouver now - and they started 'accidentally' when a bird feeder above a traffic calming bulge dropped seeds that sprouted sunflowers!  It started not far from Wolfe in a nearby catchment about 15 years ago - and is studied around the world.  We have a photo book in our library celebrating Green Streets.

Keep your eyes on those gardens for wee shoots of new growth as the days get longer and we head into spring!

The pencils above are in Mr. Russ Evans' classroom at Tupper, where Ms Ingram's Grade 7's have one more day to complete 4 planter boxes that will become 'crop' beds for students here at Wolfe.


Thanks to May Ke, Andrea Schnarr, Lisa Scott, Dana Kemes & Shera Paterson for planting last spring!
We look forward to the hidden treasures (and mystery of what colour was what!) emerging in the coming months as we head into longer days and warmer temperatures!

Planter Box Project Underway!

As mentioned in the school newsletter, Ms Ingram's Grade 6/7 class has been at the Tupper Woodshop.  Smelling like cedar from the outside of the building, they have been hard at work cutting, drilling, hammering, measuring and, of course, making pencil rockets! The VSB Career Programs Coordinator was also onsite taking photos of the good work in progress.  The students are building 'lego blocks' which will be stacked and assembled using metal pieces (lots of math to calculate how many!!)

With wood they say, measure twice, cut once...  some action photos of mentoring.

Turns out some of the Tupper students were the reading buddies when the Grade 7's were in Kindergarten - now there's some value added community crossover!!  

BONUS - extra planter box!
We also received some free wood from UBC - Mr Russ Evans (the woodshop teacher at Tupper responsible for organizing the students) has toured the Wolfe grounds.  The Wolfe PAC Garden Committee wants to build a small planter box on the east facing wall of the teachers parking lot.  Then everyone will be able to see the plants, its a great location for light and heat, and its a 'ball-free' zone which means the plants will survive (not so for the planter boxes opposite the Sparetime door.

Handy People Wanted!
IF anyone (handy dads?) want to help design this extra box, take measurements, or help build it onsite (spring), just email generalwolfegardens@gmail.com