Growing Curiosity: Gardening Club Blooms on the Junior School Rooftop

It was not long ago that the roof of the Junior School was just paver stones and access to mechanical boxes. Today, when you step onto the rooftop, it’s clear that something special is taking root. A rooftop garden is now in full bloom with overflowing planters of herbs and vegetables. Students are cultivating more than just food — they are nurturing curiosity, community, and care for the natural world.

A Community Partnership Takes Shape

The garden, officially installed in May 2025, thanks to funds raised through many Junior School families and supporters, was created in partnership with FED Urban Agriculture, a Victoria-based organization that supports community growing projects across the region. Each week, Alistair Howes, FED’s Special Projects and Engagement Manager, visits the school to maintain the garden and guide the Junior School Gardening Club — a group so popular this year that it reached capacity and even inspired students to petition for schedule changes so they can attend.

The initiative took shape after Junior School Outdoor Education teacher Jamie Pope reached out to FED Urban Agriculture last winter to explore the idea of creating a rooftop growing space. After several months of planning and collaboration, students were able to start filling the first containers with soil and plant the first crops together.

Harvesting and Giving Back

From the beginning, the project was designed to give back. Over the summer months, the rooftop garden produced about 300 pounds of food, with more than 180 pounds donated to the Songhees Wellness Centre for their community food program and Elder dinners. The rest were enjoyed by students, who proudly took home their own harvests of vegetables and herbs. 

Because FED already maintains the rooftop garden at the Songhees Wellness Centre, it was a natural fit to connect the two sites.

“We already have a relationship with the Songhees Centre through their rooftop garden,” Alistair said. “Now both gardens help supply produce for their community meals, which is a beautiful connection.”

Learning Beyond the Garden

For the students, the gardening experience extends well beyond planting and harvesting. Each club meeting begins with an observation period, where students are encouraged to simply look — to notice changes in sunlight, soil, and plant growth. Alistair describes this as a way to help them connect with their environment and recognize how everything in nature is intertwined.

The learning doesn’t stop in the garden, either. Gardening Club often connects with other subjects. Recently, students explored the artistic side of their harvest in Art class, sketching the peppers they had grown and studying how fruits and vegetables have been depicted in famous paintings.

Lessons in Nature and History

Students also take the lead in planning what to grow, whether choosing between herbs, preparing seeds for spring, or learning about native plants like camas, a traditional Indigenous food crop and important part of the Garry Oak ecosystem. They conduct soil tests to understand the growing conditions on the rooftop and learn how different plants thrive in different environments — for example, camas grows best in sandy soil, unlike the rich composted soil preferred by many European vegetables.

Through hands-on lessons, students explore more than just how to grow a garden. When learning about camas, for example, they also dig into history — discovering how Indigenous land management practices, including controlled burns, helped sustain meadow ecosystems for generations.

Growing Through Student-Led Learning

While gardening can be technical, Alistair highlighted that the most rewarding part is watching students find their own rhythm in the garden.

“It’s really interesting to see how naturally it comes to some of them. You will explain how to thin carrots, and before you have even finished, a few kids have already started doing it perfectly. Some people just have that instinct — a green thumb — but everyone finds their place in the club.”

Whether measuring harvest weights, thinning seedlings, or sharing stories about tomato blight, the club members are discovering the power of collaboration and observation, and that learning often grows best when it’s shared.

“They are in the driver’s seat,” said Alistair, highlighting the importance of student initiative.  “We just give them the tools and a chance to explore. That is what gardening and learning is all about.”