We celebrated the start of another indoor growing season with close to 20 Little Green Thumbs teachers and volunteers. Our fun evening started with a tour of Northlands Urban Farm where we got to see hardy kale, collards and some flowering plants still going strong after some early season snow. It was too cold for the honeybees to fly, and so it was easy to take a close peek at the hive through a viewing window.
Patty Milligan, our tour leader with Northlands, also encouraged us to feed the chickens and shared what students are very excited about when coming to the farm – holding an egg recently laid by one of the colourful hens! Our tour also included a taste test of edible Tangerine Gem Marigolds, and farmer Suzanne made a compelling case for us to taste Electric Daisies, aka toothache plant or buzz buttons. This flower in the aster family is a medicinal plant that creates a tingle on the tongue and is a favorite of some of the youth visiting the farm.
Our second part of the evening was a cooking demo and dinner at Highlands School with Chef Daniel Huber, a strong and busy supporter and volunteer with YEG Leftovers. This organization rescues leftover food from restaurants, grocery stores and food producers. The food is cooked in commercial kitchens and made available to Edmontonians in need. Daniel shared the story of YEG Leftovers and his efforts to encourage young people to cook for themselves with your teachers.
At the same time, a delicious veggie curry simmered on the stove. After a short while, we got to enjoy a wonderful shared meal in the school’s food lab. Our participants appreciated the opportunity of a preview to the indoor gardening season and to share conversation with like-minded Little Green Thumbs teachers eager to grow food plants with their students.
Claudia Bolli, Little Green Thumbs