Chedabucto Education Centre/Guysborough Academy Garden and Harvest!

The fruit and vegetable garden at Chedabucto Education Centre/Guysborough Academy in Guysborough, Nova Scotia is an example of a collaborative project between the school, community and public health. In the spring of 2010, the Green Team worked with the Youth Health Centre Coordinator, who is a public health nurse, along with school administrators, community members and organizations to facilitate a school vegetable garden project which has continued each year since.

The garden provides leadership and mentoring opportunities, since part of the Green Team’s role is to engage elementary students in the planting and harvesting activities. The project is youth-driven, with students having a high level of involvement in the decision-making process.

Students prepare raised beds with compost from a local waste management facility and plant seeds and fruit trees with funding provided by a community health board and other local and provincial sponsors. In the fall of the year, the students harvest the garden, the vegetables are then prepared by the students and a local chef into a delicious harvest meal for the entire student body of 317+ staff and invited guests.

The school garden in Guysborough was the impetus that provided an opportunity for students to mentor other students and for student leaders to help nurture other student leaders. The success of the Guysborough school garden can, in large part, be attributed to the relationships built amongst youth, public health nursing, community partners, and school staff; relationships that have enabled collective action, bringing a shared vision to fruition.