“School and Garden” by Nevena Ivankovic
For the past three weeks I was given the opportunity to complete my community field experience (a practicum to experience teaching outside of the classroom) at the UBC Farm’s Intergenerational Landed Learning program. At the start of the week I had no idea what to expect! As a new teacher who only has experience with high school science students, and is at level 0 in gardening, I was nervous to say the least. However, I was also extremely excited to learn about the garden and work with younger students. Read More
“Exploration of the garden- Chemistry 10” by Nevena Ivankovic
Too much of the time in science classrooms students are provided with a lab that they already know the answer to and are really only practicing their skill of following instructions. Not only is this boring, but it is not really science. Science is all about exploring the unknown and creating a hypothesis and testing it out. This is why I think it is important to expose students to creating their own design labs. In the chemistry portion of the BC Science 10 curriculum, students are studying pH and acids and bases. Chemistry can often times seem abstract and separated from the real world which is why a design lab set in the garden is a great way to expose students to the skill of designing an experiment as well as connecting chemistry to the real world. Read More
Reflections on the “Intergenerational Landed Learning Program” (5 Years Later) by Josh Nguyen a former LL student
For the past 5 years, the Intergeneration Landed Learning program has always had a special place in my heart. When I returned to the UBC Farms five years after the Landed Learning program, I felt nostalgic. That warm feeling and flashback of memories from 2010 are some things I will never forget about the Landed Learning Program.
Over all the years that have past since the LLP, certain memories have always stuck with me. Making bread in the oven outside in the pouring rain, crying about the chicken that broke its leg and had to get put down, making kale salad, planning the gardens at the potluck hosted at my school, Edith Cavell. Read More
“Connect & Wonder” by Chris Rich, a Teacher Participant in Our Project
As I do with my students, I’ve begun my personal inquiry with a period of connection and wonder. To define the big ideas, my goals, and hopefully stumble across some driving questions that will, pardon the pun, plant the seeds of my learning. Read More
“Puckered Faces” by Kyle Tillotson
“Why don’t we use rhubarb juice instead of lemon juice?” I don’t think that I realized it at the time, but watching the kids eat some raw rhubarb this past week (and laughing at their puckered faces) brought this really intriguing question back to mind. Read More
Featured Volunteer Farm Friend: Esperanza Garcia Martinez
Esperanza Garcia Martinez is a biologist. She works at UBC doing research. She has volunteered in the Urban Farmers program, the UBC Farmers Market and in the Landed Learning Program. Read More
Featured Volunteer Farm Friend: Miriam Gil
Miriam Gil is a retired teacher from the Burnaby School District, where she taught French immersion for twenty five years. She is also a professional artist, and she has been focusing more on her art production since she retired. This last couple of years she has been traveling and also volunteering for the Landed Learning program. Read More
Teacher Memories: Mother Earth, The Hand That Feeds Us
What comes to mind when you think about “nutritional education?” Think about it for a moment. Perhaps your mind leaped to the Canada Food Guide and flashed with images of fruits and vegetables – lists and diagrams of how much of each colour you should eat a day. Maybe it wandered into thoughts about dieting and long nights of food prep and portioning. Though you wouldn’t be wrong, nutritional education can be much simpler, much more relevant, and could really be the missing piece in understanding and appreciating the food that we eat. It could serve to bridge the gap between people and mother earth. Read More