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Canadian Organic Growers

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Youville Centre Students Celebrate Earth Day

On a sunny day, a group of five Youville Centre Students Celebrate Earth Day.

 

On Friday, May 25th, Youville Centre Staff and Students joined together for our annual Earth Day Cleanup. With yard cleanup supplies provided by Youville Centre volunteers and City of Ottawa’s Cleaning the Capital, our students successfully raked, swept and rid our yard of litter and waste. Due to the generosity of Alissa Campbell and Colin Lundy from Growing Up Organic at the Canadian Organic Growers Ottawa Chapter we were lucky enough to receive many seedlings for our gardens this year! It is our hope that over time we will be able to grow this partnership and incorporate gardening into our programming for our young mothers and their children in the future.

The students planted the following in the gardens:

  • peppers
  • garlic chives
  • chives
  • mint
  • parsley
  • wild pansies
  • rhubarb
  • tarragon
  • onion
  • fennel
  • calendula

 

 

It was a great opportunity for staff and students to work together out of respect for not only our immediate environment, but also for the Earth as a whole. Thank you to everyone who helped us in our efforts!

We are still looking for gardening tools and gloves to support our work in the garden this year and to stock up for our cleanup day next year. If you have any extra garden tools you’d like to donate, please contact our Communications Officer at (613) 231-5150 Ext. 128 or communications@youvillecentre.org .

Youville’s Garden Grows

 

Thanks to the mighty watering skills of our wonderful Youville children, our organic vegetable gardens are growing nicely! The garden beds are the result of a program here at Youville Centre called Planet Youville, where our students and their children are participating in a recycling program and an organic garden project. Planet Youville is a result of the generosity of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and the assistance of Sandy Hill community members and the Canadian Organic Growers‘ project, “Growing Up Organic“.

With their own two hands, the children and their mothers alike are learning how local, sustainable agriculture can have a positive impact on their health and their community. A strong sense of self-sufficiency and leadership comes from getting your hands dirty in a garden, as I’m sure anyone with a green thumb would agree. Our gardens even have a unique pattern, as the little ones themselves sowed the seeds! Everyone is looking forward to the bounty of fresh vegetables and herbs that these gardens will produce over the summer while our students achieve their Phys Ed. and Art credits.