School Workshops
Bring learning alive!
Growing Schools offers K-12 workshops for schools and community organizations! Developed through over 25 years of school gardening programs, our workshops are designed to engage youth with food systems and gardening throughout the entire school year. Our gardening workshops can fulfill the needs of your school garden during the various seasons so that students and staff are engaged in the continued care of the garden. We offer workshops that can be done in outdoor spaces (Gardening, Apple Pressing and Indigenous Plants), in the kitchen (Water Bath Canning), and in the classroom (Garden Planning, A Globalized Food System, Microgreens, and Herbalism).2022-23 Workshops
If you’re an educator interested in any of the workshops, make sure to sign-up for one with the form below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Year-Round Workshops
Garden Planning (Indoors) – $75
How do you decide what to plant in the garden, and where to plant it? A lot of planning goes into a successful garden. In this workshop, learn about plant families, crop rotation, companion planting and permaculture to plan out the next growing season.
A Globalized Food System: The Ups and Downs (Indoors or Outdoors) – $75
Why should we care about the local food system? In this workshop, we’ll look at a recent timeline of food. What does the globalized food system look like? How has the industrialization of agriculture impacted the food system? Let’s look specifically at Vancouver Island and talk about systemic issues facing our communities. Learn about food apartheid, and look at socio-economic food imbalances and their effects on populations. Discuss some place-based solutions.
Growing Food Indoors: Microgreens (Indoors or Outdoors) – $75, plus material costs
Have you ever wished you could grow fresh produce all year long? Well, you can – with microgreens! Learn all the basics on how to grow healthy and delicious microgreens indoors, providing a nutritious addition to salads, sandwiches and more throughout the entire year. Test taste some sprouts, and plant seeds in containers for your microgreens.
Herbalism: Making Salves and Herbal Tea Blends (Indoors) – $75, plus material costs
Learn how to make your own salves and herbal teas! In this workshop, you will learn how to use plants from the garden to make medicinal products for topical use and consumption. Learn about the health benefits of the various ingredients, and learn simple ways to bring herbal medicine into your daily life.
*This workshop works well in a kitchen setting, or in a classroom with hot plates.
Indigenous Plant Identification & Uses (Outdoors) – $75, plus material costs
Welcome to Coast Salish Territories, specifically of the Lekwungen, Esquimalt, W̱SÁNEĆ, and T’Sou-ke nations. Let’s open this space by talking about Indigenous and settler history in the area, and the importance of Indigenous plants for food, medicine, tools, etc. You’ll get to do some taste and smell tests of products made from Indigenous plants.
Fall Workshops
Apple Pressing and Apple Cider (Outdoors – limited availability, Sept/Oct/Nov) – $75
Let’s press some apples! We will manually press apples using an old-fashioned, wooden apple press. You will get to do a taste test, and learn about different apple varieties, the history of the apple tree, and how to preserve apple cider.
*This workshop requires an outdoor space within 100ft of a power source and a water source so that we can attach extension cords and a hose.
Putting the Garden to Bed (Outdoors) – $75
The growing season is over, so what next? In this workshop, we will go through the steps needed to preserve soil quality and “put the garden to bed” for the season. Doing these tasks now will get the garden beds ready for spring. Topics and activities to focus on may include soil erosion, composting, weeds, the use of cover crops and mulch, seed saving, and overwintering crops.
*School/organization to provide materials such as mulch, soil, and seeds.
*We recommend booking multiple sessions to ensure your garden gets the care that it needs.
Spring Workshops
Waking Up the Garden (Outdoors) – $75
Spring is here, and it’s time to get gardening! We can lead your class through seasonal activities such as sowing seeds, transplanting, pruning, weeding, amending soil, harvesting and more.
*School/organization to provide materials such as mulch, soil, seeds and seedlings.
*We recommend booking multiple sessions to ensure your garden gets the care that it needs.
Custom Workshop
Do you have a topic in mind that could be demonstrated by talking about gardening, agriculture or the local food system? We can customize our existing workshops, combine different elements of existing workshops, expand on existing workshops, or develop new lesson plans to suit your unique classroom goals. Describe your request when filling out the workshop sign-up form.
Pricing System
Please let us know if costs are a barrier to signing your class up for a workshop when you fill out the workshop sign-up form (at the bottom of this page).
Discounts
- Discounts are available for multiple workshops booked in a row on the same day.
All educators who sign up for a workshop will be entered to win a prize! The winner gets to choose from a spring produce box, or a free workshop!
Reviews from Educators
What are educators saying about our workshops and field trips?
“Thank you for a wonderful day! My students are still talking about the delicious apple cider they made!”
– Grade 11 Teacher
“Well Done! This was one of the best field trips I have had with a class. It was very organized and the children were all engaged.”
– Grade 3 Teacher
“My group is such a tough one, you all did great with them. The activities were well planned and facilitated…. Your flexibility was a major part of making the day a success.”
– Grade 8 Educator
“I was impressed with how many students were engaged for the activities. They didn’t necessarily enjoy the walk, but getting them moving up Knockan hill was beneficial for all. Thank you for being okay with students that are not engaging with the discussions.”
– Grade 8 Educator
Have you heard about Seed the City?
In partnership with the Greater Victoria School District, we deliver a summer work experience program for high school students where they can gain skills in urban farming and gardening, earn credits towards graduation, and become part of the local food movement in their city. Learn more!