Students throughout Powell River had the opportunity to try their hands at gardening and help beautify their schools last fall when a local business donated flower-bulb kits.
Mother Nature owners Ron and Dianne Pfister approached School District 47 with the offer to donate the kits to any interested school. The offer was gladly accepted, said School District 47 district principal Rod Perrault.
“It’s just wonderful when community businesses are able to contribute something like this to schools,” he said. “When Ron came to us with this offer it was just out of a place of generosity.”
The Pfisters learned of the Canada-wide project through one of their wholesale suppliers and applied to participate.
“We were able to secure 10 of the kits from the 500 across Canada, so we did quite well,” said Ron.
In total, eight local schools participated and boxes containing 800 bulbs, gardening tools and information on plant life were donated. Students then set about planting the bulbs last fall and learned about gardening during the process.
At Henderson Elementary School, the project has been a big hit with staff and students, said principal Kristen Brach.
“We got this huge package and our kindergarten and grade one classes took on the project,” said Brach. “They planted the bulbs all around the school, then they waited and kind of forgot about it, so when they first started blooming it was so exciting.”
A total of 6,400 bulbs were planted at schools throughout the community.
The Pfisters said projects like this are fun and rewarding to be a part of and help pass along knowledge of plants and gardening to younger generations.
“It’s a nice way to get kids involved into gardening,” said Ron. “It’s super important they understand it.”
Mother Nature also participates in other school programs such as donating microgreens to local schools as well as teaching workshops and hosting field trips. This will be the only year for the bulb program, however.
“This particular program was a one-off for the schools,” said Ron, “just because of the cost involved to do it.”
There is the hope some of the bulbs planted may bloom again next year, according to Brach. In one area of the grounds students even planted the flowers in the shape of an “H” for Henderson, she said.
“It’s been beautiful all along our banks and the front area of the school,” she added. “It has really brightened up the whole place.”
