Students pitch in at local organic farm

Sarah Rennie Culling end-of-season eggplants and peppers is not everyone’s idea of a good time, but for twenty students from the Option and Sunshine Classes at the Huntingdon Adult Education and Community Centre (HAECC), the opportunity to work hard harvesting fresh food was a welcome experience. The visit to the Jardins Glenelm organic micro-farm in Elgin was organized by Mckenzie Hooker, whose job at HAECC is to find ways of getting the students out into the community to help and encourage them to do things for other people. And, with the end of season rush to harvest their vegetables before a killing frost settles in, owner Ian Ward was all too happy to have the extra help. Tasked with clearing several rows inside a greenhouse, the majority of the students dug into the work, literally, pulling eggplant and pepper plants while carefully harvesting the remaining fruit. Others, a bit put off by the dirt were able to help in other ways by helping to sort the vegetables into bins and by encouraging their classmates. “It’s a nice way to get them out and doing things,” said Mckenzie Hooker, noting this was the first time the groups had done any kind of gardening work. “It will also help to work on their balance,” she smiled, while watching the students take great pains to stay within the 12-inch-wide paths between each raised bed while working. [caption id="attachment_41611" align="alignnone" width="521"] The students worked to clear eggplant and peppers from a greenhouse during their time on the micro farm in Elgin.[/caption] The added benefit of being able to see where some of the food they eat comes from was another aspect of the field trip highlighted by Ms. Hooker. “They see it coming into the kitchen and cook with it,” she said, noting how several of the students are also involved with the café program at HAECC and help prepare healthy meals served at lunch to students and staff. For Ian Ward, the small amount of time the students were able to help on the farm left a big impression. “Working to pick fresh food on a farm seemed to be very significant to a number of the students. There is something special about working with the land, and that was a great thing to have shared with all of them,” he recounts. “It was like having a small army of enthusiastic workers inside our greenhouse all working in a coordinated fashion,” he said, adding “they were able to get everything done fast and without disturbing the other beds.” The students left before lunch with a small care package of veggies to sample back at the school, and an open invitation. “They are welcome back anytime,” says Ward.