Thanks Whole Foods!

We are in good company with other lower mainland and BC Schools who benefitted from the generosity of Whole Foods Whole Kids Foundation.  Check out this display at the Cambie store.  Next year our garden will look more like this one - only edible.

WE DID IT!

5 strong mamas wielding power tools, shovels and accompanied by 9 children can do a lot in 2 hours!  Now the teachers can use garden beds for their classrooms to learn their biology, botany and more.
We were recently gifted with 270 King Alfred Narcissus bulbs from VanDusen Botanical Gardens, so they might pop up here in the spring...

Where did the soil go?

One mound down, one more to go

Next step:  spread the compost mulch around the naturalized garden.

We do this every other year to amend the soil and keep the plants healthy.

Sunshine Work Party

Garden Work Party

2-4pm

Sunday October 26th

west of the annex

Everyone welcome

No experience needed

Bring the kids and soccer balls

Drills, saws, shovels and wheelbarrows and sunshine if you have some

If we have lots of help, we could finish the build today!

Fill 'er up

Four brave souls got wet but the garden beds are full!  

Rumour has it pumpkins may magically appear this fall :-)

There is still lots to do this year:  

weeding, levelling square beds and installing brackets, relocating composter.  

We'll get the students to plant some cover crops;

plants that act like a winter blanket until this garden comes alive next spring.

Watch your backpacks for more information;  

help always welcome with no experience needed. 

generalwolfegardens@gmail.com

And we've got to get ourselves... back to the garden!

School is IN so let's get those gardens grooving again!

Monday September 29th

9am - noon

Come one come all

Wheelbarrows, shovels, and elbow grease welcome.

Dig This!

Grounds Committee Members will be at the garden

Sunday June 15th 10am - noon   and   4-6pm

Tuesday 6-8pm  and   Wednesday 6-8pm

OR

Bring a shovel + and fill at your own families time
Everyone welcome

Let's move mountains :-)

Questions?  Contact tamaraelke {at} me.com

Car Free Day 12-7 so come before or after your stroll down Main Street!

Double Mount Pleasant!

TWO mountains to move this year!

Many hands get things done, half the work but twice the fun

We have a load of organic veggie garden mix from www.westcreekfarms.com and a complimentary load of compost mulch through our City of Vancouver Green Streets.  The soil goes in the planter boxes, and the compost mulch can be added in, as well as spread throughout our naturalized tree and shrub area.

The large planter boxes need landscape fabric and then are ready to fill up.

Bring a shovel and wheelbarrow if you have one - but we have lots.

Soil arrives Friday

Friday June 13th we have a load of compost mulch coming from the City of Vancouver and a load or organic veggie soil from West Creek Farms.

Friday Tamara will begin to line the boxes with landscape fabric and Think and Eat Green will come 9-10am. From then on, we can start to fill the boxes with soil, and the remaining mulch will spread throughout the naturalized area to keep the trees healthy.

Anyone with a shovel can come and do some filling.  We'll post work parties as they come up.  We can fill this weekend June 15 & 16 and weekday evenings next week when it's cool out.  If you have a shovel, you can come anytime that works for your family.

Then, we can fill 'er up with seedlings anxiously awaiting to spread their roots out.

Please come and lend a hand - every bit helps.  We have shovels of all sizes :-)

Dig it!

The next phase is to fill the planter boxes - stay tuned on this blog for delivery date and work party times.  Bring your kids - the more the merrier.  Last time we emptied an entire 12 cubic yards in a few hours.  One way to bring down the king of the castle :-) www.generalwolfegardens.blogspot.ca

                                                                 

I see trees of green,
red roses too I see them

bloom for me and you and I 

think to myself what a wonderful world








Thanks Ms Andrew's class 
for reminding us! 

Below:  newest member of grounds committee:

Come One, Come All!

Sunday June 1

12-4

Bring your kids, staple guns, drills, saws and brains!

We need to level, lay wood, screw brackets and drill holes.

The goal is to finish our 3-bin composter and 5 garden beds.

Then, we can add landscape fabric, and get ready to fill 'em up!

Libby's Underground Idea

In the area by the annex, balls and lots of activity make it hard to grow plants.
This year, with the help of Cheryl and Laura, our two Master Gardener students, and some Grade 6/7's, we took out the invasive ivy and some large roots.
This year, all the action is underground as potatoes are a root vegetable.
We hope to harvest the Grade 1 potatoes next September
(remember the potato salad at the Welcome Back BBQ?)

High Five Hoilday

10am

noon

2pm

Congratulations to Ellen, Paul, Michael, Ulf, Steve, Lisa, Libby, Grant and all the kids for coming out today to make Wolfe Great.  And the neighbour who let us use their outdoor plug :-)

100's of cuts of wood were made with skill saws to get the boxes into formation.

No work party holiday Monday.

Watch this blog for next steps

Woodn't Ya Know It?

Just in time for a construction project on the long weekend!

Helpers of all stripes welcome - email tamaraelke@me.com if you want to help

Thanks to Dick's Lumber (604-437-1111) and Michael Nedelec for making this happen

See you at school, with no buzzers blasting!

Wood Workers Wanted!

We need handy folks who can wield a tool or two to build our new planter boxes.

Please email tamaraelke@me.com if you can help build with a team.

Tulip history

The boulevards are blooming with the efforts from a few years ago.  As part of the Green Streets program with the City of Vancouver, we were able to 'rescue' bulbs from Queen Elizabeth Park and City Hall when they replace their annuals.  Many parents and students planted the random bulbs that you now see blooming.

This year many Grounds committee members have been into classrooms to plant seedlings.  Worm Composters have appeared in some classes.  The library window sills are alive with spring.

What's next?  WOOD!

And builders!

We need people with power tools to put together the new planter boxes.

If you are handy, and want to get together with some other families, have we got plans for you :-)

Contact generalwolfegardens@gmail.com, Tamara or Grant if you're interested.

If you want your child's class to be visited for an hour by a Master Gardener or gardening parent, just ask!

Wednesday Seedling Frenzy

After School

Wednesday April 16
3:15 - 4:30

Come help plant sunflowers, bee balm, huckleberry bushes, hollyhocks and more!

These trays will begin their life over Easter weekend on the library window sills.

We'll have seeds, soil and trays - all we need is hands to plant.

Planting seedling trays is fun, easy and satisfying!

More proof of spring!

               Morning                                 Afternoon

  

Come to the April 8th PAC Meeting to learn 

about the Spring Garden Plans for our school

Proof of Spring

That's a bee with a pollen pack - eager to go out to the first snowdrop blooms of spring.  Bees don't have to worry about daylight savings time, they'll get up naturally with the sun, earlier and earlier every day.

Keep your eyes on this blog - lots of activity is going to happen this spring in our back garden.  We need volunteers to dig, build, plant, help in classrooms and more.  We'll host an information Open House and set up a display in the office window in April.

Where it all begins...

It's garden planning time.  Here's some inspiring places to look for great seeds:

www.westcoastseeds.com - the biggest and best - request a catalogue

www.truckfarm.ca - Judy grows in the back of her pick up and with Lego pots!

www.brothernature.ca - Vancouver Island

www.bcseeds.org - stripey colourful beans

www.edibleoasis.ca - New Westminster native, edible, ornamental, fruit trees, etc

www.twiningvinegarden.com - unusual bee friendly plants, nut trees, etc

SOIL:  www.westcreekfarms.com - for beautiful quality soil

Volunteers Wanted

Hi everyone,

We have dozens of parents, grandparents and families that have helped the garden in the past years.  They rake, water, plant, dig, prune and do so many things inside the classroom and outside along the boulevards.  With our NEW garden design, approved by the VSB, this spring promises to be the most active yet.  The VSB Grounds Crew have been requested to get some equipment in during March Break to begin the new garden area (between the annex and the paved court along 27th).  Then, the building can begin!  We'll need to start some seedlings inside in April so they'll be ready to plant.

This spring we need;

Classroom Helpers:  Fridays in April and early May

Construction Crew:  We need to build planter boxes (and deconstruct the existing one)

Composter Builders:  A new 3 bin composter is needed to help the Green Team

Movers of soil:  We need some muscle here to move compost mulch, and soil≥

Fruit Tree Expert:  We have 5 trees that require transplanting as the finishing touch.

Boulevard Maintenance:  City of Vancouver Green Streets need some spring clean up.

Summer Watering Families: We use a google doc successfully and everyone takes a turn.

Grant Report Writers:  Share the good news with words if you don't have a green thumb.

Look for the new garden design in the display case... or check back to this blog for a photo.

Questions or to sign up, contact generalwolfegardens.blogspot.ca

Please also note:  IF you want to learn about school gardening, there are Grown Up classes at www.farmwonders.ca (March 17-21 + March 24, 25) as well as www.naturehood.ca (Feb 21)

Turn over a new leaf...

Come help the Grounds Committee in 2014!

We need help pruning, planting, digging, moving, assembling, even some folks handy with tools will be welcome this year.

We have been working on a new garden design for the area behind the annex and the tennis court area.  This has been a well-thought out plan consulting with Landscape architects and the VSB.

Friday January 17th - 1-3pm - Boulevard Clean Up Work Party - no experience needed
RSVP generalwolfegardens@gmail.com

Friday January 31st - 2-3pm  Garden Meeting - Everyone Welcome

Find out how you can help, what classes can grow, where our funding comes from, and learn about our spring plans.  No Green Thumb required, we can teach  you.  Gardening is fun, outdoor exercise that builds our community.  We have watering families in the summer, grant writers, blog writers, and more - you can help in many ways, just ask us how.