June 22, 2022 (Almonte, ON) – Eight Almonte District High School (ADHS) students worked collaboratively in their math and English classes to design, plan and budget for a project to build two raised garden boxes at Almonte Country Haven, a retirement home in Mississippi Mills.
The multi-step project began in March 2022, and on Wednesday, June 8, the group of students – Nathaniel Atfield, Brandon Blackburn, Jacob Blackburn, Nic Bertrand, Anthony Miller, Teigan O’Toole, Leeta Warren, and Tristan Wasylnuk – travelled to the retirement home to build the boxes.
Spearheaded by ADHS teachers Megan Masterson and Caitlin Coffin, this real-world learning opportunity was completely student driven.
“It got the students out of a typical paper and pencil math class and gave them the ability to do some hands-on learning. The students were really proud of their work and were very excited to show off their garden beds to the residents of Country Haven,” says Masterson.
In Masterson’s math class, the students researched and priced the materials, budgeted the project and designed the planter boxes. The group took a trip to the planned building site to ensure their designs fit with the space and planted and monitored seedlings to be planted in the boxes.
In Coffin’s English class, the class wrote a proposal including a summary of their project, the target market, features of the garden boxes and the benefits to both the residents and overall community.
After a successful pitch and securing the necessary funds, the students purchased the supplies from Deka Home Building Centre in Carp.
Students brought their unique talents to the table. Grade 11 student Nic Bertrand used his construction expertise to cut the wood and frame the project ahead of time, and Grade 12 student Leeta Warren used skills from her tech design class to create plaques for the boxes.
Students finished off the project by planting an assortment of vegetable plants that the residents can maintain, harvest and enjoy.
“We hope that these garden boxes will give the residents something enjoyable to do outside,” says grade 10 student Jacob Blackburn.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Christy Wilson
Secondary Learning Partner
Upper Canada District School Board
[email protected]