Port Elgin students enjoy the fruits of their labour from winterized greenhouse

Janelle Dixon is amazed as she looks around a winterized greenhouse just outside the Port Elgin Regional School.

The Grade 8 student helped plant seeds last fallas part of a program designed to help teach students how to tackle food security.

Dixon said there wasn't much to do in the winter, but she continued to weed and water.

"We were shut down over Christmas break for COVID, and there was barely anything when we left, and we came back and it was this high," Dixon said. "It was absolutely crazy.

"We came in and it was like, 'Oh my God, look at everything.'"

Watch | Growing food on Port Elgin school grounds

Students in Port Elgin taste the fruits of their labour

2 years ago

Duration 2:33

Students at Port Elgin Regional School are enjoying a bounty of produce they grew themselves in a winterized greenhouse.

Now, rows and rows of produce are in full bloom, with everything from kale to peas to strawberries.

Matt Ripley, the vice-principal of Port Elgin Regional School, also teaches kitchen and cooking skills.

"This is the first time we've actually been able to use produce that we grew ourselves," he said. "So if we talk about the cost of food, it's drastically going down because there are not as many trips to the grocery store.

"We just take a trip out to the greenhouse and harvest."

Students are learning to use what they've grown to make recipes. When they had a lot of kale on hand, Ripley said, students created kale egg bites.

Grade 8 student BradynJones is a fan of the fresh ingredients.

"It just helps your food taste better, it's freshly grown, so it's better for you," Jones said.

Fellow Grade 8 student Maizie Carter has two large gardens at home and is familiar with cooking with fresh produce.

"Things are very expensive now, like vegetables and stuff in the stores, and it's very nice to see our school is providing vegetables for the school, so that we don't have to go and buy stuff from the stores," she said.

Not only is the greenhouse providing produce for students, the school is also selling a number of products in the community, including homemade jams, and bags of fresh greens.

The students are also learning how to weigh and measure, pack and process, and market their products.

Ripley said these are all skills the students will take away from the program and use throughout their lives.

"It is an authentic experience when you can see from ground to plate," he said.

"The kids can see the entire process, from planting to harvesting to preparing to serving. It's such a wonderful thing to see that come full circle."