Welcome to Victoria West
Last week, Phase 2 of our Children’s Garden was installed which is an Indigenous Food Garden. We would like to thank the people who were pivotal in making this day a success. Elder Maryann Thomas, who shared traditional plant knowledge and stories, John Harris who is our District Elders & Indigenous Knowledge Facilitator, parents Tayler and Solara from Hatchet and Seed who generously provided landscaping expertise and time, Patti our community partner, the students from Division 2 and other students from across the divisions for their help with planting the garden.
This new garden was planted to teach our students about the local and traditional plants used by the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations in an authentic and hands on way.
Signage for the plants will be coming soon, but in the meantime, you can go to the garden site which is below our Children’s Garden and see if you can identify the plants we planted such as Coastal Strawberry, Evergreen Huckleberry, Goldenrod, Salmonberry, Nodding Onion, Hairy Honeysuckle, Wooly Sunflower and Kinnikinnick (Camas coming soon).
Our School
Welcome to Victoria West
During Spring Break, Patti our community partner and Steph, both from the Vic West Food Security Collective, planted three fruit bearing dwarf apples trees in our garden.
We now have Fiji, Granny Smith and Braeburn apple trees growing!
Transplanting day!
We also had Jim Fishwick, from My Mason Bees install a mason bee house in our garden.
Mason bees do not sting. They are pollinators that are critical to our ecosystem. You can learn more about these important bees on Jim’s website: https://mymasonbees.org/.
Mason Bees’ Life Cycle
Mason Bees’ Nest
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Welcome to Victoria West
Wood Chips from Urban Tree Care
Over Spring Break, our Children’s Garden had many exciting additions! Firstly, we had an incredibly generous donation of wood chips from Urban Tree Care.
The wood chips were used to cover the ground of the garden area and the Vic West Food Security Collective collected the underlaying cardboard.
Together, with help from their friends and other community members the cardboard was laid and the woodchips were spread. It was an amazing evening of community working together to complete a big job for our school garden!
Before and After:
Before
After
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Welcome to Victoria West
We are also raising funds for the start-up costs of this important project. You can make a tax-deductible donation through School District 61’s School Cash Online platform by selecting “Victoria West Elementary” and specifying that it is for the garden in the “Message to School Board” box. There is also link to the donation platform on the Victoria West Elementary homepage at https://vicwest.sd61.bc.ca
Our School
Welcome to Victoria West
There will be opportunities for parents, guardians and family members to be actively involved in supporting classrooms in the planting, tending and maintenance of the garden year-round.
Call-outs for volunteers may come from individual teachers, the school newsletter, or check our school’s website under the tab “Our School” for current updates and happenings with the garden.
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