Course:LFS350/Projects/W2020/QME

Overview

Project Title

Peas Please!

Organization Name

Queen Mary Elementary School

Keywords

School garden, food garden, urban agriculture, peas, tri-mentoring

Related Course Concepts

Food justice, Asset based community development, Cultural identities

Organization Information

Organization Name

Queen Mary Elementary School

Mission and Vision of Organization

Our mission is to build a respectful community of lifelong learners. We work towards being caring, accomplished and cooperative citizens. We aim to provide an enriched environment in which children are encouraged to think, question, create and wonder.

Guiding Principles + Values

• Demonstrate personal responsibility and self-control: Respect each other, respect each other and respect property
• Becoming socially and environmentally conscious learners: As students develop in age, they will show increasing maturity, decision making and leadership qualities.
• We value: Connection to land, teaching students how we obtain our food
• Accessibility for all students and staff to use the garden

Contact Information

• Primary Contact Person(s): Maria King
• Email: mking@vsb.bc.ca
• Phone: 604 713 5464
• Address: 2000 Trimble Street, Vancouver BC
• Website: http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/queenmary/Pages/Default.aspx

Preferred Method of Contact

• Best method(s) to contact: Email anytime. Text Maria's cell if needed, during business hours only (778 834 6478), M-F 9am-4pm

Project Description

Context: What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?

Queen Mary has on-site raised European garden beds and native plant areas. Staff have been working with students and a variety of community groups for the past several years to make the best use of these resources (teaching spaces). Classroom teachers and students plant and harvest throughout the year. UBC students will work with the grade 4/5 students using a tri-mentoring model. They will teach them about the cultural context and uses of peas, where peas come from in the world, and plant peas with the class.

The grade 4/5 students will share information with Quadra Day care students to engage the students through shared garden planting. The grade 4 and 5 students will mentor the younger students.

Through this project, the grade 4/5 students will gain knowledge about different cultural practices, food growing skills, and how to mentor younger children. The project helps students to develop connections with the land and with each other, helping to address issues related to loneliness and disconnection.

Note: We do not expect UBC LFS students to be teachers. Any and all interactions with elementary students will be led and facilitated by classroom teachers with input from UBC students and through collaborative planning.

Main Project Activities

UBC students will research and present cultural uses of peas, how peas are used around the world, how peas are planted and harvested. They will develop three age-appropriate workshops for Grade 4/5 students so that the students can share their new knowledge with children from the nearby Quadra Daycare.

Expected Project Deliverable(s)

3 age-appropriate workshops, including relevant teaching resources

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

• Research skills, to find out how peas are used around the world
• Investigation skills, find out how different cultures use peas and why they are important
• Critical thinking: how is agriculture in Canada, similar and different in terms of production and use of land in different countries?
• Organization skills: to present information in an organized, thorough, clear format to the grade 4 and 5 students who will present the information to the pre school students

Student Assets and Skills (to be developed through the project)

• Developing and implementing age-appropriate and engaging learning opportunities for children
• Understanding school food literacy activities as they relate to the BC Curriculum

Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?

• TBD

Is a criminal record check required?

• Yes

If a criminal record check is required, when should the process be initiated?  

• At the first community partner meeting (January 22, 2020)

Project Location

• Queen Mary Elementary School
• Quadra Daycare

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

• To be determined with the community partners.

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

• Students are always welcome to volunteer in the classroom! Please ask about opportunities.

Required Reading

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

Students should review these materials prior to the first partner meeting:

• Cullen, T. et. al (2015). Food literacy: Definition and framework for action. Perspectives in Practice, vol. 76. DOI: 10.3148/cjdpr-2015-010
• Sumner, J. (Ed.) (2016). Learning, food, and sustainability: Sites for resistance and change. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Available from UBC Library. Students should read the Introduction before the first community partner meeting.
• Request the relevant past LFS350 student report from your TA (e.g. Great Garlic (Fall 2019))

Additional Project/Partner Orientation Materials

The following will be provided at the first community partner meeting:

• Site visit to the school garden and daycare gardens

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

I hope students will learn about...

• How to teach students how to plant, harvest peas
• How to teach students about different cultures and counties use of peas
• How to effectively present to a classroom and teach younger students so that they can also teach younger students

I think students will come to appreciate...

• When teaching, how important it is to provide a cultural context and significance of peas so that they can share in an appreciation of where food comes from around the world.

Through this project, students will develop...

• Students will develop a comparison of similarities and differences of cultural food practices from around the world.

How does the student project contribute to your organization's mission and long-term vision?

Intended Project Outcome

• Students will plant peas in the school and daycare gardens that can be used in our school food programs. QME teachers will also learn from the LFS students about different ways to teach using technology (e.g. Powerpoint) in a way that is engaging for younger students.

Medium Term Outcomes

• By learning about different cultural food practices and mentoring younger children, grade 4/5 students will develop connections with the land and with each other, helping to address issues related to loneliness and disconnection.

Long Term Outcomes

This project helps us share our core values by encouraging students to:

• Demonstrate personal responsibility and self-control
• Respect each other, respect each other and respect property
• Become socially and environmentally conscious learners