Welcome Spring!

The chilly, rainy, winter months have officially come to a close.  Not that we don’t expect more rain, but things are looking up in the Garden!  

This has been a busy year behind the scenes for the Alberta Rider Memorial Garden committee as we work to bring to fruition a dream that started nearly ten years ago.  Even before the first students set foot in our brand new school all those years ago a group of dedicated parents, community members, and teachers envisioned a dynamic outdoor learning environment.  It’s taken years of hard work and dedication but we’re very close to seeing the dream become a reality!

We have beautiful native plants already thriving in the Alberta Rider Memorial Garden and plans to expand the plantings this spring.  You will have an opportunity to help by participating in our garden clean up party on Saturday, April 12th.  We hope to see your family there, rain or shine, to help prepare the beds for the planting day in May.  Volunteering at the garden work party is an ideal family volunteering opportunity.  It’s important for our children to see us volunteer, and vital that they have a chance themselves to give back to the community.  Volunteering teaches children social responsibility, creates a lifelong ethic of service, and improves the community in countless ways.  Plus, this is a fun way to let them get their hands dirty!  Stay tuned for more details about the work party and how you can be involved!

If you have visited our garden recently-and we certainly hope you have-you will see that things look quite a bit different than they did just a few weeks ago.  We were very excited to see our first structure go in last month.  The shed will provide much needed storage for teaching and garden supplies.    

Now that we have the storage taken care of we’re on to the final exciting step, the outdoor classroom!  Teachers will have access to a covered classroom where they can take their students out to learn.  Not only do we have an ideal spot to teach our students about the environment but with the outdoor classroom our teachers can take their students out for any subject.  Reading, writing, and even math can all be done al fresco with great success!  

How can you help?  

• Continue to support the Garden fundraising by purchasing Scrip.  If 100 ARE families purchased a $100 gift card to Safeway, Albertsons or New Seasons every week our school would earn $400.00 a week.  Do your grocery shopping with scrip and support the garden with every purchase!
• Attend the April 12th garden clean up party from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, bring your gloves, tools, and energy ready to get our garden beds prepared for planting.
• Come to the spring carnival and silent auction on April 26th and buy a plant for the garden.  
• Come back in May with your family to plant it!  
• Talk to your child’s teacher about how you can help bring the learning outdoors.  
• Finally, check back to our blog often, or subscribe for updates, so you don’t miss a single thing!