The school garden was funded by the Fernwood PAC and grants when the garden and greenhouse were originally established in the early 1990s. From 1991 - 2004, Fernwood Elementary School was very fortunate to have a dedicated, passionate group of teachers who shared the ‘Let’s Grow For It’ program vision and goals in their classrooms and who were also willing to do the necessary ‘legwork’ in the greenhouse and in the garden beds.

Quote from Susan Lee, Nov 2019 SSI Garden Club Grapevine Newsletter:

"Along with a few other teachers, I helped initiate and develop the Fernwood School ‘Let’s Grow For It’ Garden program. With community help we raised money to add a greenhouse onto our school and developed a K-7 curriculum, where every student in every class became involved in gardening in some way. We composted lunches, grew food for the Food Bank, harvested lettuce in January, grew prize winning sweet peas for the Fall Fair, taught soil and insect science lessons, grew tomato seeds that had been flown in space, held plant sales to sustain our program, grew all the plants for Mother’s Day hanging baskets, and many more projects, over 10 successful years in the 1990’s. It was a wonderful program and I am honoured to have been a founding member. I’m also thrilled that most of the schools in our district have either revived, or started their own garden programs once again."

HISTORY