Alert Bay Elementary School

Cultivating sustainability and student-led learning on Alert Bay’s windswept shores with a greenhouse project that’s enriching science, food security, and Indigenous traditions.

Alert Bay Elementary School

Cultivating sustainability and student-led learning on Alert Bay’s windswept shores with a greenhouse project that’s enriching science, food security, and Indigenous traditions.

The Problem

Alert Bay Elementary is a small school with 34 students located on a remote island accessible only by ferry, which means they have to get all of their food delivered in by boat. While the island’s weather is very temperate, it’s also very windy and rainy! This makes it hard for regular gardens to thrive when they’re open to the elements.

The Solution

The island is home to many Indigenous communities, including the nations of the Kwakwa_ka_’wakw, ‘Na_mgis, and Nawalakw . Many of these communities have begun greenhouse farming as a way of growing local produce and living off the land, while protecting the plants from their unique weather conditions. With a 98% First Nations student body, Alert Bay Elementary was inspired to learn from the work their students were already doing in their home communities and begin their own greenhouse project. Students will grow fresh produce for their hot lunch program, maintaining the greenhouse as part of their classwork, supported by hydroponic systems and community contributions.

14

students worked directly on the project, while engaging the other 14 students and 9 teachers at their school.

50

parents and community members were reached to learn about the students new greenhouse!

Lessons Learned

Don’t reinvent the wheel!

The school was able to go to their First Nations partners and learn how they had implemented their greenhouses in the best way to work with the island’s climate. This meant they could get a leg up in the project planning, receiving recommendations of suppliers, building techniques, and growing approaches that saved a small and very busy school lots of time!

“I want to take action because I think a lot of people don’t realize how important it is to be sustainable until it’s too late. If we start now, we can make a difference in the way our school and community think about food and waste. Plus, it feels good to know that we’re doing something positive instead of just learning about the problem.”

Evan, Student Lead

“Our greenhouse project with N:OW for Net-Zero has been wonderful. It has been so fun for me and my classmates to learn about greenhouses and why we have built one. Working in the garden has been the highlight of my last year at Alert Bay Elementary and I am so grateful to have spearheaded this project.”

Evan Byers, Student Lead

Greenhouse that Alert Bay built to grow fresh produce!

Related Lesson Plan

Science

Food，Agriculture & Land Use

Grade 12

ON

Unharvested Potential

Conservation Agriculture

This lesson explores the concept of conservation agriculture, a sustainable farming approach that aims to improve productivity while preserving natural resources and minimizing environmental impacts. Students will examine the principles of ... read more

Download Now!

Related Resource Guide

Sorry, there is no related Lesson Plan for this item.

Return to Solution Stories Library