Guaranteed Spring

It's just around the corner - the trees know it and are budding despite the snow.  Time to pick your garden bed and seeds and get planting those seedlings inside before March Break!

Garden Champion Wanted

As our family will graduate soon, we are looking for someone to take over the City of Vancouver Green Streets Garden boulevards, which are currently operated by the 'Wolfe PAC'.  For garden bed access behind the annex, please contact the PAC or attend a meeting to find out if your class can participate this coming year.

Anyone interested in doing garden lessons is encouraged to contact Tamara or Libby.  There is a list of several lower mainland groups active in the Vancouver School Food Network that would be available to partner with Wolfe for growing food programs.  These include: 

• SPEC (Society for the Promotion of Environmental Conservation)
• Earthbites
• Think and Eat Green
• Fresh Roots
• Growing Chefs

Green Money

Thank you for financial support over the last 8 years from:

• TD Canada Trust Friends of the Enviornment
• Toyota Evergreen School Greening Grant
• Vancouver Foundation
• Salt Spring Coffee Roasters
• Whole Foods Whole Kids School Garden Program

Green Streets Boulevard Champion Wanted

The City of Vancouver Green Streets program has been flourishing for over a dozen years.  General Wolfe Elementary has a unique configuration with so many in one place.

 The size of the boulevards is too big for us to tend to (as many of the volunteer gardening parents have 'older' kids now).  Libby has done a good job of removing lots of prickly Nootka Rose from the east side of Ontario street - thanks Libby!

Be on the lookout for this spring anenome which is an early bloomer by the bench on Ontario Street.
If you would like to garden on the boulevards (or pick one), or know a neighbour interested in caretaking one of the boulevards, or become the Wolfe PAC liase with the City of Vancouver, contact Tarmara at tamaraelke@me.com

Master Gardener Project Closed

Parent Volunteers Wanted

Spring is already pushing up the bulbs on the Green Street Boulevards!
Before we know it, its time to get the seedlings started.

This year we need parent volunteers, interested teachers to take on a Garden Bed.
If a parent wants to participate in the Friday after school garden club, let us know.

In 2016 , we have an opportunity to join with SPEC (Society for the Preservation of Enviornental Conservation) who has worked with numerous VSB Schools for years. 

Despite heroic efforts of Dawn Dunkerly, Libby Taylor, Laura McCann, Julia Steward and a few others, we did not have enough parent involvement to keep the  Master Gardener project growing.  Thanks to everyone who helped out - the gardens were full last summer.

Wood gone to a good home

Recently, the Wolfe Girl Guides went to Tupper and made amazing Insect Hostels.

Tupper is taking the wood for garden construction - they made our planters in the teachers parking lot and were installing at Carnarvon last week.  Thanks, Russ Evans, you are amazing!

Blooming Indigenous Species!

The native Oregon grape is pushing out beautiful yellow blooms.  It's found from California to our own southwest coast.  It is a known food source - no poisonous berries here - just good, tart jam making materials come the spring.  It's also known as a favourite 'house' for the younger students to play underneath.  Located in the naturalized area behind the annex, a unique feature at Wolfe.

This garden is for the birds...

Birds ...  and the worms!

This morning about a dozen chickadees were happily moving their way through the food garden and trees.  When you create habitat, you create the opportunity for life to flourish in 'our neck of the woods'.

Wood available

Sadly, we've had lots of vandalism this past year.  Grade 8 and 9's have been breaking glass, starting fires, and generally leaving the place a mess.  We have leftover wood from our recent build and have removed it.  If you have a use for it, please let us know.  Tamara

Raking Leaves

The Wolfe PAC is the official care taker of the City of Vancouver Green Street Boulevards.
The annual party in October invites over 500 community gardeners.  Anyone is welcome to volunteer and help rake, prune, plant, sweep gravel or tidy up garbage on any day (since we all walk by it regularly :-)  Rakes are kept in the maintenance room and we have plenty to go around.  Even snowshovels work to keep the streets safe and teachers are welcome to bring their classes outside

Flax by Jack!

Flax is a seed we eat, and it makes Linen, a fabric we wear.  It is flowering in October
We grew oats, barley, quinoa and flax last summer!

Self Seeding Sunflowers

This boulevard was planted in 2010 as part of a living birthday cake when Wolfe turned 100 years old

Did you know?
Sunflowers are actually dozens of actual flowers, all gathered together in a group.  The outside petals are striped as they are made from several flowers 'joining hands' to create a petal around the other flowers.

Every fall, they drop seeds.  Birds and squirrels eat them and drop a few seeds as well.  We have only planted this particular Green Street garden once, but every year, new plants grow.  Even in our dry summer, they were able to survive.  Perhaps we have a mystery watering elf?

They originally were planted from West Coast Seeds Music Box variety, 

a short, multicoloured sunflower with many branches per plant.

See the Bee

We have many plants near Ontario and 26th that are popular with bees and butterflies.  We have catmint, russian sage ("magnificent plant") and bulbs from VanDusen.  Up to 200 bees have been seen and heard here at one time.  Ask gently, and they will let you pass as they are quite focused on gathering nectar - their sugar water that gives them energy to fly and collect nectar to make honey.

 

Can you see the bee?

37th Avenue is the Pollinator Corridor, complete with an Insect Hotel near Hamber Secondary!

Watering Heroes

Thanks for all the parents and families that kept the Garden hydrated this summer.
There was a leak in the annex, and the VSB shut off the water, so the inventive volunteers brought water in wheelbarrows to the classroom planter boxes behind the annex.  Well Done!

Bee-eautiful Thanks to our volunteers

Thanks to the watering families - Wiedemann, vonDehn, Ahrens, Taylor, Dunkerly, Scott!

• We have flax, quinoa, barley and oats growing - beautiful grains to look at and eat.
• Peas and radishes are ready, potatoes are popping out and rainbow chard is glowing
• sunflowers are coming up strong and with regular watering will be great come September
• Pizza ingredients are coming along: chives, tomatoes, sage, peppers
• Pollinator friendly plants like borage and Phacelia are keeping our pollinators pleased

Did you know?  watering is important for plants to produce nectar.  Without nectar, no bees and without bees, no pollination which would mean no food to eat.  So even in dry times, watering plants helps our local beecosystem.

Last Friday Garden Club

Our pizza garden is still growing, but we'll have some already made to share with our keen young gardening friends.  Check out our tomatoes, quinoa, flax, peas, beans, borage, sunflowers, peppers, kale, radishes, oats and barley growing... amazing!

Last Garden Club is Friday June 12th from 3:15-4:15.

Pizza will be served to all Garden Club active members.
Other families welcome to join in.  

Bring snacks and have a fun summer after school social time!

We will be:

• planting the remaining seedlings
• transplanting apple trees
• digging holes
• working on signage
• moving wheelbarrows of soil
• and, of course, watering the plants and sometimes each other!

HUGE thanks to Laura McCann, our Master Gardener.
She has been at almost every Friday session since April, as well as in some classrooms
Thanks also to the garden elves who have mysteriously been replanting from the damage :-)

Summer Watering Families Wanted:  contact lisamscott@telus.net

Handy Person Wanted:  to seal our composters for the summer contact tamaraelke@me.com

Free Wood:  leftover lumber from our build is available.  Come see us Friday after school

Growing Grains + Friday Fun

Rainbow Qunioa, Oats, Barley, Flax by Jack!
We are experimenting with some colourful grains in our small planter boxes.
Our lovely beds are painted with bed letters A-L thanks to Sarah, Alaina, Josie and our Master Gardener super volunteer Laura.  All the beds are full with teacher and garden club activities!

Next week we take over the lasanga bed, move some apple trees and lay down some wheat!

No club Friday May 15th, but after that we'll see you every Friday after school until at least June 10th

Thanks to Ms Andrews class who will be watering our 'pizza garden' seedlings.

Happy EveryDay is Earth Day!

Friday afternoons have never been better!
3:15-4:15 weekly until June 10th

The students are getting so much done so quickly!
We've planted borage, sunflowers, sweet peas, tomatoes, chives and more!

Dig School on Fridays!

Dawn is starting us off with Grow Your Own Pizza ingredients!
tomatoes, onions, herbs and more... start the trays in the library and watch them grow.
We also have some grains to experiment with - wheat, quinoa and more.
Join us every Friday afternoon 3:15-4:15 until June 12th

Friday Garden Club

Fridays April 10 - June 12th  3:15-4:15

Meet you in the Garden!   NEW Friday After School Garden Club

Families of all ages welcome to come help plant, grow, water, dig... well, you get the idea!
We have a naturalized play area and 11 Green Street Boulevards that are unique to Wolfe.

Parents (and grandparents!) of primary students are especially encouraged to come out, as we have several active parents with intermediate students.  No green thumb needed.  Tools supplied.