SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS
“EarthBites has been an invaluable addition to our programming. The philosophy and structure of the program tie directly into the Redesigned BC Curriculum. The Earthbites program helps teachers develop inquiry projects with students and learn to apply their knowledge to real-world settings. Through the Earthbites program our students work with an organic gardener who introduces them to the food cycle from planting and growing, to harvesting and composting. A nutritionist introduces students to healthy snacks using produce the children have grown themselves.”
– Janet Souther, Principal of Shaugnessy Elementary School
SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM:
EarthBites offers year round, school partnership programs in the Vancouver area. We provide seasonal workshops that provide an immersive environment for students and teachers to learn about growing organic food and creating nutritious snacks. All of our workshops are linked back to the new and evolved BC curriculum and we currently partner with 6 VSB schools.
BENEFITS & OUTCOMES:
Our urban gardeners and registered holistic nutritionists visit the school once a week to:
- Plan & help manage your school garden
- Provide students & teachers with hands-on learning that connects growing food with nutrition and the production of food, from soil-to-plate.
- Plan and hold after-school “pocket” farmers markets; selling produce from school garden as well as student-made nutritious snacks and crafts. 100% of profits are used for the garden to buy materials such as seeds and soil.
- Provide teachers with resources to lead garden sessions independent of EarthBites, and to connect classroom learning to what is happening in the garden environment
- Ensure school garden space is fully utilized as an outdoor classroom
COSTS:
Our partnership program usually is approx. $50 per student for the full school year and schools often partly fund this through the school PAC + per child as an inhouse school field trip