University of British Columbia Faculty of Land and Food Systems 107a-2357 Main Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4

Tel: 604 822 9986 Email: info@thinkeatgreen.ca Web: www.thinkeatgreen.ca

With the financial support:

Introduction 2014 will mark the 100th anniversary for Queen Mary Elemen-

tary! This is a major milestone for the community, made even

more exciting by the announcement that Queen Mary will

undergo seismic upgrading over the next couple of years,

with a “new” school completed by 2016. In the past, Queen

Mary students, staff and parents have been involved in

many programs, projects and events related to the concept

of “thinking and eating green” – a few examples include,

“Project CHEF”, in-class composting, Spuds n’ Tubs, Nutrikids.

At the beginning of this school year, Sarah Carten was

invited to come to our school to share the amazing growing

& green initiatives occurring throughout Vancouver schools.

A group of staff quickly saw the value in moving the school

forward in a more coordinated and systematic manner. And

that’s where Think&EatGreen@QueenMary officially began.

Think&EatGreen@QueenMary

Activities Meeting the first three objectives involved sourcing, purchasing,

sorting and storing resources, tools and materials. First, Barb Finlay

of “Project CHEF” assisted us in identifying and sourcing the items

we needed for our food preparation and food sharing bins.

Once we had the items on site, students unpacked the boxes

and sorted the items, creating an inventory list that will be used

with the bins for checking and tracking. Students did well in

identifying the names of the cooking tools and utensils. Two City

of Vancouver compost bins were purchased, as we are not yet in

a position to install a more permanent type of composting

system. In fact, the composting initiative was put on hold until we

have a bit more information regarding the construction zones for

the seismic project. The goal is to start small in September, and

then roll-out composting to involve all students and staff as we

move through next school year – perhaps implementing and

testing a variety of composting solutions!

Almost half of our divisions planted seeds or seedlings and

enjoyed growing food and other plants. Students in two classes

enjoyed in-depth growing, food analysis and food preparation

through the ‘Growing Chefs’ program! The focus of learning in

another class was on plants as food, plants as medicine and

plants as poisonous substances… while the students actively

grew plants in their classroom as well. Yet another division, on the

initiative of one of the students and his parents, created a twist

on the ‘living wall’ concept by attaching a wooden palette

garden and recycled coffee container pots to the intermediate

playground fence. Other classes utilized limited space in existing

outdoor planter boxes that contain established trees. In addition,

all sorts of cooking and food preparation took place in these and

other classes – for example, a Grade 6/7 class enjoyed a

sushi-making extravaganza!

A small, but important, foray into the parent community began

with a presentation to the PAC regarding the grant received

from Think&EatGreen@Schools, what we hope to achieve

long-term and a glimpse of the great things already occurring

throughout the district.

Finally, an excellent team of UBC dietetics and nutritional

sciences students was matched with our team. Over the course

of two months, a very professional “Think&EatGreen

PASSPORT” (with direct linkages to grade level curriculum AND

food cycle components) was developed. It can easily serve as a

school-wide launch!

“I love helping cook at home, but we don’ t do a lot of gardening or composting, so it’ s great to be doing this at school.”

Objective The project team at Queen Mary put forth a proposal

focused on the following five (5) objectives:

1. Enhance existing resources and materials (posters, books,

DVD’s, etc.) within the school, related to the various

aspects of sustainable food systems.

2. Investigate and initiate composting, on some level.

3. Establish “Project Chef” style food preparation and food

sharing bins in order to make cooking, food preparation

and food sharing activities much easier and more

sustainable for all staff/students.

4. For 50% of our divisions to engage in some type of food

growing inside classrooms or in temporary exterior

locations.

5. Deliver or host low or no cost presentations for students,

parents, or staff on any topic related to food systems/

sustainability/thinking & eating green, etc.

PROJECT Report

Outcomes and Reflections This was a slow but important beginning for Queen Mary. The re-

ality is that the seismic project (current planning & future con-

struction) has and will continue to hinder our progress in a few ar-

eas. In a way, though, the seismic upgrade goes hand-in-hand

with the kind of renewal and careful collaboration that will also

b e r e q u i r e d a n d r e a l i z e d t h r o u g h t h e

Think&EatGreen@QueenMary initiative.

Momentum is building: a number of parents are already asking

to come on-board, a ‘QM team’ will attend the Summer Institute,

new resources are ready to be used, a team of staff/students/

parents will come together to envision garden design as part of

the seismic landscaping plan. Most importantly, student leader-

ship needs to be established in order to maximize student en-

gagement in moving us towards a living, breathing food system.