Farm Yard Gardens Program
For more information on the evaluation of this
program, or of how to start a Grow A Row garden in
your neighbourhood, please email
us at GrowARow@foodshedproject.ca
The Farm Yard Gardens Internship was
funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and FedNor.
In 2009, it was offered as a pilot program with our
host farmer, Dillon Davekis (Farm Yard
Sales). Dillon also lead the program in
2010. Dillon is an amazing gardener, using
organic soil amendments, with a focus on heirloom and
heritage seeds.
The primary purpose of the program is to
give young people an opportunity to learn about
gardening and farming through hands-on activities and
workshops. The program also helped develop social and organizing skills,
as well as healthier eating habits.
The program was offered for two
growing seasons, and demonstrated that Sudburians can grow a significant amount of
fruits and vegetables locally. We have to
realize that though our growing season may be shorter,
growing food depends
on a variety of factors besides weather, such as
genetics (variety), soil health, and watering
practices.
In 2009, 14 interns participated, and about the same
in 2010. The interns took part in all
the gardening activities, from preparing and amending
the soil, planting from seed, weeding, watering and
harvesting. The interns brought home their harvested produce to share with their
friends and families. The internship was free and all
supplies are provided. The interns were
volunteers.
In 2009 Nick Wolynsky coordinated
the program. We thank Nick for his detailed
accounting of the plants that were grown, his video
talents, and for his
enthusiasm for "all things food
security".
In 2010 Lark Farkgreive
coordinated the program on a very small budget -
congratulations to Lark for her knowledge about plant
growing and science in general!
2010 Farm Yard
Gardens by Lark are posted on Picasa here.
For more information on the evaluation of this
program, or of gardening programs in schools for the
Grow A Row program, please email
us at GrowARow@foodshedproject.ca
Farmer
Lark: