Thomas Swift

Thomas Swift's garden will be a place for growing--growing healthy vegetables, community, curriculum, outdoor experiences, working together, social skills, non-verbal communication, education around nature, and experiences in play not isolated to metal, rubber, and plastic structures. Children have little time for free play anymore, and when children do have free time, it's often spent inside in front of the television or computers. Childhood and outdoor play are no longer synonymous--today, many children live what one play authority has referred to as a childhood of imprisonment. School facility playgrounds are often the only outdoor activities that many young children experience anymore, and we hope to change that by adding the natural space at our school. Thomas Swift doesn't have any money set aside for this area, and our school is the only school in the Abbotsford district that accepted the call to apply for Whole Kids. We are dedicated to making this garden happen, through volunteerism, calling for donations from local businesses, and fundraising throughout the school year to make installation possible in Spring. Other schools in Abbotsford have recently joined the 'Interactive Learning Garden School' designation, and they have seen amazing turns in student and teacher attitudes, behaviours, performance, and positivity. Students from these schools have demonstrated marked increases in interactivity and have taken ownership of their garden spaces through their participatory planting days and subsequent class maintenance of these spaces. We at Thomas Swift would love to have a learning garden space of our own to involve our kids, teaching them to interact with nature and with each other in a forgotten way.