In 2015 Fort MacMurray schools will have access to learning gardens, providing an education in urban agriculture and farming fundamentals to residents of all ages. In 2014 a pilot program was initiated at Westwood High School and the Father J. A. Turcotte School, and the learning gardens at both schools were extremely successful. As a result two additional Fort MacMurray schools have been granted learning gardens, and these are Greely Road School and St. Anne School. According to the beautician coordinator for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Karen Puga, “It’s an opportunity to help schools provide learning areas where kids get some education and experience seeing seeds (grow), not just ‘a carrot comes from a grocery store.” Puga stated that the learning gardens program is important for many reasons.
St. Anne School principal Delores Abraham welcomed the addition of the learning gardens to Fort MacMurray schools. Abraham said “As a part of our Apple Schools Program, we did have two small gardens — they were quite small — where the children could watch produce grow in the school, so they have used that in the past, but they’ve never done gardening outside where they get to watch produce grow and carry through to eat it, It’s part of our Grade 4 curriculum. They do a fair bit of ‘Waste in Your World’ and environmental projects in Grade 4, so they would be a major grade that takes part in it.” Principal Abraham continued by saying “We’re hoping to use the food that’s grown to be part of our snack programs. So the children actually get to see the fruits of their labour and taste everything that’s grown.”