(Morrisburg) - It was an afternoon of secret agents, security guards, and armoured cars.

Students at Morrisburg Public School emerged from the building Wednesday to find  two provincial police cruisers, a Brinks truck and a jet- black SUV -  all guarding a secret package carried though the depths of the Atlantic by a Canadian submarine.

The package – bearing the emblem of the Royal Canadian Navy - contained about 5,000 sun spot sunflower seeds that were placed aboard the Canadian submarine HMCS Windsor  in February. The submarine patrolled the coast off Virginia as part of a special American-Canadian naval task force.

They were placed on the vessel as part of Project Greenman, a program led by Winchester Public School Educational Assistant Jeff Arsenault.  The seeds will be distributed to children at the school who will plant them as part of a giant science experiment to test whether exposure to the pressures of the ocean depths affect the seeds’ growth.

“This project demonstrates for students the value of teamwork,” said Arsenault, pointing to the OPP officers, Brinks security guards and other volunteers who helped with the return of the seeds. “We’ve worked with the Canadian navy, naval cadets, the school and others to make this project happen.

“It’s also a great scientific experiment for our kids to participate in. These seeds have travelled at depths of 200 metres under the sea in a Canadian submarine. We want to look at how that exposure will affect the stamina and strength of the seeds. To find that out, we’re asking the students to go home, plant these seeds to see how they grow, and report back results to our Web site.”

The submarine initiative is just one part of Project Greenman which has also sent seeds to the North Pole, and to the top of Mount Everest. There is also a plan to send seeds into space on a future flight of commercial space travel company Virgin Galactic.

Through Project Greenman, Arsenault wants to create excitement about gardening among students and hopes that through these projects he will encourage them to enjoy gardening as a hobby. He says gardening is a great stress reliever and it provides gardeners with the joy of helping living things grow and thrive.

The delivery of the seeds, donated by project sponsor McKenzie Seeds, came with great fanfare provided by a contingent of “Project Greenman” secret agents dressed in “Men in Black-style “ black suits and sunglasses and bright green ties. The agents came out to stand by Morrisburg Public School Principal Jack Shouldice as he accepted a package from a Brinks security guard which contained the seeds and a secret file explaining the purpose of the project.

Students at Morrisburg Public School have pledged to participate in Project Greenman. The entire student body took a pledge back in February to support the initiative.

Students such as 11-year-old Erin Gilmer and Marcy Smith said they were looking forward to participating in the garden project by planting the seeds at home.

“I find that whenever I plant things and help them grow it’s a beautiful thing,” said Gilmer. “It gives you peace.”

-30-

For more information, please call:

Jeff Arsenault

Educational Assistant

Winchester Public School

613-774-2607

Posted June 22, 2009