tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29342053302048061352024-03-05T09:01:06.760-08:00Kids Grow!Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-61005578076913779192015-09-16T23:20:00.000-07:002015-09-16T23:20:11.309-07:00Thank You For Another Summer!<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Today, was the last event of the 2015 season! We started the day by tending to the garden. The usual weeding and watering was thankfully ended with the reward of harvesting our plot. The kids and their parents were able to dig up a few carrots, some radishes and gathered a lot of lettuce, peas, chard, thyme and sage!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">We were so fortunate to have Nikita Scringer, top 25 contestant on MasterChef Canada and fundraiser for the 2015 season of Kids Grow, lead the day's activities. She sent them off on a scavenger hunt around the garden to find items to collect and put in their very own fairy gardens. Nikita was really engaging and patient with the kids as she helped them create some sample fairy garden with the trinkets they found on their scavenger hunt, she explained about how seasons change, and all the change that comes to plants and trees when autumn rolls around.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">After creating some sample fairy gardens with the kids and scavenging for more rocks, sticks and grasses that could be used for their own fairy gardens, the kids had a snack of carrots and bell peppers in the orchard, followed by story time. We read two different stories and the kids enjoyed them very much! The first was about a pumpkin patch, and the second was about planting a little seed and exercising patience in helping it grow throughout the season. Afterwards, the kids played their favourite game: Capture the Crops! We played about four rounds before everyone decided they were tired and thirsty and it was time for the sharing circle. We shared our favourite moments, games, stories, snacks and speakers from the summer. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Thank you so much to all of the volunteers for all of your hard work and contributions to this summer's programming. Without the support, leadership, expertise and generosity of the strong team of volunteers, this program would not be able to run! We would also like to thank everyone that came out to participate in our programming; children, parents, friends and family. Whether you came once, three times or showed up every week, the dedication towards gaining an education around food and gardening as well as supporting small but uprising community programs and spending quality time with your child investing in their education is very much appreciated! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.8px;">We are really hoping to continue programming in Sunnyside next summer in addition to expanding the program in upcoming years. We are seeking a local organization interested in one or more of the following; food, education, community building, and gardening, to form a partnership with for the summer of 2016. To inquire about this opportunity, please contact Anisha at KidsGrowGardening@Gmail.com. </span></div>
Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-45812111176984294212015-08-26T06:44:00.004-07:002015-08-26T06:44:53.937-07:00Let's Go on a Scavenger Hunt!<div>
Upon visiting the garden this week, we noticed that our garden beds were covered in a luscious forest of greenery. After weeks of hot and dry weather, lots of garden maintenance was required in order to ensure the ultimate well-being of our beloved Kids Grow garden plot. We started with some pruning of our spinach as they had all gone to flower. Did you know that spinach plants are more likely to bolt in hot weather? It is a self defence mechanism to make sure that if all the leaves dry up, the flowers will produce enough pollen to grow a new plant if necessary. If we let the plants go to flower, all of the plant's energy goes into producing the flowers and in turn, the leaves grow small and taste quite bitter. We snipped off the flowers to make sure all of the plant's energy is making it's way to the producing large, dark green and tasty leaves. The kids took turns to water the garden and also lent a helping hand by watering any of the plots in the community garden that belonged to vacationers or those unable to come out to the garden and water on a regular basis. After all, it is a community garden and we want to make sure we can do everything we can to help out our fellow community garden members! We lovingly watered these plants with great care as to be careful not to get too much water on the leaves. It water sits on the leaves in the hot sun, they can be singed and in very wet conditions, mould has a more suitable environment to grow. </div>
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Following our gardening segment, we decided to read a story, in fact a guessing game, about plant identification! This was in preparation for our scavenger hunt in which the children and their families were asked to search the garden for various greens, veggies, flowers and berries! For some extra excitement, we also asked the kids to retrieve scattered puzzle pieces around the garden/orchard to build our mystery puzzle in conclusion of the day's adventure. A lot about plant growth was learned at this event, especially when our participants had trouble finding potatoes and beets in the garden! We also asked families to find some fun artifacts such as a crazy hamster (picture found below), a ken doll doing the splits and a pig wearing earrings. The kids searched high and low, far and near for all of the items on the list and were able to find almost everything. We also had them on a hunt for nature's creatures; a worm, a beetle and an ant. We had to pur our thinking caps on to find these creatures, as they aren't always visible to us wherever we look. After checking under rocks for beetles, digging in the ground for worms and peeking into cracks on the sidewalk for ants, we were successful in finding all the items on our list!</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Since we've had some picky eaters at Kids Grow, especially in the department of vegetables, one of our awesome team members created rainbow cards for each child that pose the following question: Can you taste the colours of the rainbow this summer? The purpose of these cards is to encourage trying new vegetables in the garden and embracing new looks, flavours and textures. This week, we shared a snack of mini cucumbers and French Breakfast radishes. The kids were able to add fresh raspberries from the communal plot. Our day ended some exciting games of 'Fruit Salad' and 'Capture the Crops' and of course our weekly sharing circle to share our favourite part of the day!</span><br />
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You don't have to be an plant expert or hiking enthusiast to take a nature walk. Go on a hunt outdoors, spend some time in the sun and make time to appreciate the wonderful creations of nature that surround you. </div>
Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-32402052944673906472015-08-10T19:04:00.000-07:002015-08-10T19:04:12.625-07:00Snug as a Bug<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUbHoLEjb-wnQGRc5HZaSjeaEQYxyCKcJE4uCa5f7QGouWUl2NCDfdPnNlNOrhu1dUxxgkHRI5FlabNYeKMMrMRRAbxk01qa7zi2NkGcdsoSPHx8RRjU5fgIZdfqkmDx3mkbIf4reicge/s1600/IMG_1201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUbHoLEjb-wnQGRc5HZaSjeaEQYxyCKcJE4uCa5f7QGouWUl2NCDfdPnNlNOrhu1dUxxgkHRI5FlabNYeKMMrMRRAbxk01qa7zi2NkGcdsoSPHx8RRjU5fgIZdfqkmDx3mkbIf4reicge/s200/IMG_1201.jpg" width="150" /></a>On Saturday August 8th, we arrived at our garden to find that it was hit relatively hard by the hail storm earlier in the week. Thank goodness we harvested some of our veggies last week! The kids helped us by turning over the soil that had been flatted by the harsh weather. Although this turned mostly into looking for worms, the soil in our garden received the love that it needed. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLUZTT1Xg32-LcVwetnP3C6LgmIe1Bpzy9uFGD84KYwPatAqRMXjPKs-KU4HAq8UjdOs6297bzyTyvNELZuZ3NJQRVj_bt8uF9_RYLAK_NUedQe7oAlbjajcsLlGX1WVaS518g4bS-YFw/s1600/IMG_1202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLUZTT1Xg32-LcVwetnP3C6LgmIe1Bpzy9uFGD84KYwPatAqRMXjPKs-KU4HAq8UjdOs6297bzyTyvNELZuZ3NJQRVj_bt8uF9_RYLAK_NUedQe7oAlbjajcsLlGX1WVaS518g4bS-YFw/s200/IMG_1202.jpg" width="150" /></a>After a few minutes of turning soil and finding worms, the kids met Judy Marsh from <a href="http://outdoorsin.ca/" target="_blank">Outdoors In</a> to learn all about bugs. Judy's philosophy is all about learning to care for the environment through experiential learning ie. hands on learning. The first thing she had the kids do was find all the parts of an insect that she hid around the orchard. When the kids brought all the pieces back, they assembled the mystery bug. It was a dragonfly! We learned all about how wonderful dragonflies are for the environment. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUFWMcyljOiQP4kZlGkG_k77SdvztgIC3b25xwdQmR7vb4-mzEC14B5XvTQw3v5ZDqz1Bgdrfodg92ekaz29C0BXMs0fl6in5gbGMS8r90bIWCmBo7TzWfNytZY34IOsDlXQ7HqXchf0_/s1600/IMG_1207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUFWMcyljOiQP4kZlGkG_k77SdvztgIC3b25xwdQmR7vb4-mzEC14B5XvTQw3v5ZDqz1Bgdrfodg92ekaz29C0BXMs0fl6in5gbGMS8r90bIWCmBo7TzWfNytZY34IOsDlXQ7HqXchf0_/s320/IMG_1207.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VEKW-_PzLDXyO8bXS9VHY35iwDgJufq4qx149WRep7ej_M4tsWmy0PeXkSsLFk6BH9G9N3xYb7q3f3KI1s96iGMg6bdtEAqUko9TNhA4ir8F2HIaireX2mnP0pjEj0ByElzRjg0icG8e/s1600/IMG_1213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VEKW-_PzLDXyO8bXS9VHY35iwDgJufq4qx149WRep7ej_M4tsWmy0PeXkSsLFk6BH9G9N3xYb7q3f3KI1s96iGMg6bdtEAqUko9TNhA4ir8F2HIaireX2mnP0pjEj0ByElzRjg0icG8e/s200/IMG_1213.jpg" width="200" /></a>Judy also played several games with the kids including 'The Bat and the Moth,' which had a child blindfolded in the circle trying to find another child who was ringing a bell. This game emulated the way a bat uses its superb hearing to look for food at night. She also played a game which had the kids running a relay race as bumble bees getting pollen (tennis balls) from the other side of the park. The children (and adults) had so much fun playing bug games with Judy that they didn't even notice how much they were learning. The time we spent with Judy this morning was awesome.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyT53Ids9Nnd-FTyV5MNc67my_p9hGSjOVDWpgERSR6x9CvOZgfdbRzdznAqwccTQ7lYw_j6wImBY5K6Ml86vvKUHcLqo4R3ZxXiVTM67TT24Ysh2XENjUqp06gImr_8x6ywisZGx9_PXT/s1600/IMG_1216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyT53Ids9Nnd-FTyV5MNc67my_p9hGSjOVDWpgERSR6x9CvOZgfdbRzdznAqwccTQ7lYw_j6wImBY5K6Ml86vvKUHcLqo4R3ZxXiVTM67TT24Ysh2XENjUqp06gImr_8x6ywisZGx9_PXT/s200/IMG_1216.jpg" width="200" /></a>After all the fun games, our little bugs worked up an appetite and met Laurie on the blanket for a snack and a story. Today's story was about caterpillars, another one of our favourite bugs!<br />
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We had so much fun today. We can't wait to see what next Saturday brings.<span id="goog_1295700144"></span><span id="goog_1295700145"></span>Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-69113241708664617252015-08-05T12:16:00.001-07:002015-08-05T12:16:46.516-07:00How Do Plants Grow?This week's activities centred on exploring the plant life cycle. After some very productive work weeding, watering and tasting some delicious edibles from the garden, the kids headed over to the orchard to get started on our first activity of the day.<br />
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They were quite adept at piecing together the whole narrative from the seed to the plant which flowers before finally bearing the fruit containing the seeds to start it all over again. It’s definitely a process that we overlook too often, yet it never ceases to amaze us when we contemplate how all the potentialities of a plant are contained in the seed – life’s original ‘miracle,’ that sustains all other life on this planet!<br />
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We also read a little story together that visualized this idea beautifully by illustrating the diversity of flowers and fruits carried on this Earth (who doesn’t love children’s books?!) and the kids were definitely recognizing a lot of the plants! The kids harnessed their artistic talents in composing some really creative pictures that incorporated actual plant-material with colourful additions of their own which all melded nicely together on the page, I have to say! </div>
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Naturally, we finished off with a game full of laughter and fun, 'Capture the Crops'. It was a wonderful way to enjoy the beautiful weather, get some exercise and end our wonderful day. </div>
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Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-53217060708104607782015-07-28T21:54:00.003-07:002015-07-28T21:54:29.648-07:00Waste in Our World<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrO0C8wv0EbCXH2PH8KQoiRCMiuwe24jmNfFb_WC6tTswWxZ-apX9PfPrL7Zp6QsmIk7DJdAIbCOtKOk-L02_Nzix7fEL05Pw-5U_HKY2Rvps1omCKCjMY_IsmpX75OcaoHbEeQuousb2/s1600/kidssssss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrO0C8wv0EbCXH2PH8KQoiRCMiuwe24jmNfFb_WC6tTswWxZ-apX9PfPrL7Zp6QsmIk7DJdAIbCOtKOk-L02_Nzix7fEL05Pw-5U_HKY2Rvps1omCKCjMY_IsmpX75OcaoHbEeQuousb2/s320/kidssssss.jpg" width="320" /></a>When we hear cycle of life our minds may not immediately go to what this really entails but thanks to Chrissy from Puzzle Permaculture we got the full low down on Waste in Our World. She talked about the sun side of life and the dark side. The sun side being those creatures that get their nutrients from the sunshine, plants, etc. But what about the waste these creatures create... yes humans too! What is our waste and how does this tie in to a positive life cycle? Hmmm well lets talk about the dark side and see if we can figure it out. As you may have guessed it, the dark side involves all that mysterious land under our feet in the vast and amazing earth. We put our waste into the earth and somehow this helps other creatures and plants obtain nutrients. So lets get to the bottom of this! What kind of creatures are down there and what really is our waste? Some that Chrissy talked to us about were bacteria that feed on waste.... then other creatures feed on bacteria... continuing on a cycle. What else? Fungi is a big one that looooves the dark side. Now here is the giveaway... a DUNG beetle. Okay so you guessed it folks! Poop. We're talkin' about poop. Many creatures survive off our bodily waste! Chrissy had some pretty neat examples for us and we even got to spread fertilizer created by worms and fungi in our garden so it's sure to grow wonderfully with all the added nutrients. It was interesting to learn that the best fertilizer is created by animals that eat only grains... so no, unfortunately, your dog is not helping out your garden! It is so interesting to learn as plants and creatures how we all really are connected in the cycle of life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gK7jRdF35ApLQUgxCMPa_OsPp7qKMG3GteLk1PGtCkp2PRTyICVrV19Xhx2V5Pt-OcTP9PGdlxKbeTeCWqqIzFmHWZJ-Uq3CzLbnqTEbCuoDr4kTjlebNnniT3ow_0Op5mKaU0-rnrI0/s1600/.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gK7jRdF35ApLQUgxCMPa_OsPp7qKMG3GteLk1PGtCkp2PRTyICVrV19Xhx2V5Pt-OcTP9PGdlxKbeTeCWqqIzFmHWZJ-Uq3CzLbnqTEbCuoDr4kTjlebNnniT3ow_0Op5mKaU0-rnrI0/s320/.jpg" width="240" /></a>For story time we read the book, "I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean" by Kevin Sherry, and I really suggest checking it out! It is hilarious and in a child-like manner puts things in perspective! Then we enjoyed a delicious snack of blueberries and grapes and had lots of fun playing games in the orchard!<br />
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A huge thank you to Chrissy and all the wonderful families that made it out!<br />
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See you next week!<br />
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<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-2040000017899168682015-07-24T19:34:00.000-07:002015-07-24T19:34:24.714-07:00Making Pesto with Sharon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGPm0lK02PdKMx2d8ejLhfaXcGVVy7uTuP6GzTrHic6l9VJiivRAYgbbDwG-rgz4pM6i_c6PZvP_lFDfI9TpQTuMOpgd9iTRldV_k9EioKo_1e4Wug9CaIFXSL21d1B1tSlpQhPiY2od5/s1600/11745526_874785452611990_4955849705296956041_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGPm0lK02PdKMx2d8ejLhfaXcGVVy7uTuP6GzTrHic6l9VJiivRAYgbbDwG-rgz4pM6i_c6PZvP_lFDfI9TpQTuMOpgd9iTRldV_k9EioKo_1e4Wug9CaIFXSL21d1B1tSlpQhPiY2od5/s200/11745526_874785452611990_4955849705296956041_n.jpg" width="150" /></a> On Saturday July 18 the crew at Kids Grow! were fortunate to have Sharon from <a href="http://poppyinnovations.ca/" target="_blank">Poppy Innovations</a> teach us how to make pesto using the ingredients the kids grew in our garden. Sharon talked about the importance of nutrition and how important it is for people to eat healthy food.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceKfHhoGrywEJSlUEdTwSXdrHPPPRruKnohdC1mg9NRdruRHJ9KB8joaw_BXKs-RW0uAIl2SKs2dXTUTav5JmpZLez4oyLuGETOxwC36rNNRKq9j9YqsjjZh2Yp3PudnBq3VeE12suaaK/s1600/11705336_874785492611986_5777820178873246039_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceKfHhoGrywEJSlUEdTwSXdrHPPPRruKnohdC1mg9NRdruRHJ9KB8joaw_BXKs-RW0uAIl2SKs2dXTUTav5JmpZLez4oyLuGETOxwC36rNNRKq9j9YqsjjZh2Yp3PudnBq3VeE12suaaK/s200/11705336_874785492611986_5777820178873246039_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>While Sharon was setting up, we played a game of Fruit Salad in the picnic area. Everyone had fun running around and thinking of our favourite fruits! Strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons, bananas (& banana bread!), apples, grapes, and more! There were so many fruits to choose.<br />
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Then, the moment we have all been waiting for finally arrived: we got to pick the spinach! Using the freshly picked spinach, Sharon taught us how to make some delicious pesto. Sharon delegated various tasks to the kids so that everyone had a part in making the pesto.<br />
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We had some people using a mortar and pestle to crush the spinach and greens, others were grating cheese, cutting pita, squeezing lemons, and some were even shaving the garlic with a micro-plane. Everyone worked together to make the pesto, and when we were done mixing the ingredients we were able to eat it. Yum!<br />
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With bellies full of our fabulous pesto, we said our goodbyes.<br />
What a fantastic day!<br />
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Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-86067183122744692702015-07-15T17:53:00.000-07:002015-07-16T13:42:16.605-07:00Do you hear what I hear? <div class="columns-inner" style="background-color: #66bb33; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; min-height: 0px;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.4899997711182px; line-height: 1.5;">Birds seem to be abundant in the city of Calgary but we tend to overlook and become oblivious towards the common group of pigeons that hover over a green field in the summer or the crow that caws at you on your daily commute to work. What role do these birds play in our community, the greater ecosystem and more specifically our garden?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.4899997711182px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px; text-align: start;">These are a few of the questions we began to explore at our Kids Grow event on Saturday, July 11th. We began by familiarizing ourselves with the common birds of Calgary. Many people are familiar with the Mallards and Geese that inhabit the surrounding bodies of water and the crows and pigeons that socialize in public areas but how much do we know about the starlings and sparrows? After our information session conducted through a fun game of matching bird pictures with their corresponding facts and bird calls, we took a nature walk to see what birds we could find. Our hearing skills were surely heightened on this adventure as we had to find the proprietors of each distinct sound amongst the harmonious bird chatter.</span></div>
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After our nature walk, we headed back to the garden to make some bird feeders. Many varieties of bird seed that can be bought at your local grocery stores contain preservatives and other not-so-nice things that can harm our wildlife. We decided to make our own using goodies that are safe for birds and completely edible for humans. Another problem highlighted with bird feeders is the sheer dependence birds can develop to an man-made source of food. The bigger your bird feeder and the more you refill it, the greater the chances are that birds in your area will keep coming back for more and develop a reliance on your goods. Ensure that your feeder is small and contains a variety of seeds and dried fruits that can be supplementary to their diet and not fully meet their dietary requirements. We made bird feeders out of orange peels! <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/gardening/natural-handmade-bird-feeders/index.html" style="color: #993322; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the instructions.<br />
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Succeeding our bird feeder construction were some fun bird-themed games! We began with the 'Duck Waddle' and finished with 'The Little Lost Birdie' in which parents and children paired up, one as the mama bird and one as the blindfolded baby bird. The mama bird would announce her specific bird call to the baby and the little birdie would have to use her listening skills to find her mama bird!<br />
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To learn more about birds in Calgary, check out the <a href="http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SE-parks/Inglewood-Bird-Sanctuary.aspx" style="color: #993322; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Inglewood Bird Sanctuary</a>. The walking trails are unfortunately closed due to the flood damage from last year but they continue to offer information through their nature and free tours to those interested.</div>
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Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-4283993544982145412015-07-08T13:25:00.002-07:002015-07-08T13:25:50.292-07:00Library in the Garden!<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Saturday we had Larissa from the Calgary Public Library join us for story time. She brought books that could be signed out by the kids, and shared information about the public library's <a href="https://calgarylibrary.ca/browse_program/summer-reading-challenge/">2015 Summer Reading Challenge</a>. This is a great opportunity to enjoy reading while you discover amazing new books and you can even win<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"> prizes! </span>She did a great job engaging kids in reading and inspired many of them to practice often so one day they too can read tons of books on their own. It was so fun to have you Larissa! Thank you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our other activities were more hands-on. The kids got their hands dirty with weeding and watering the garden. They are doing an amazing job at identifying weeds and plants and understanding what is helpful and harmful to our garden. Even adults were interested to learn that some plants which look beautiful with flowers are actually weeds and could be harmful to our vegetables or herbs that we want to grow. It takes a lot of water to harvest a healthy crop and we don't need anything else sucking it all up!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our time was now coming to an end but we always are ready for some fun games! This weekend we played Four Corners which is always a lot of fun and you can try at home too! You can use a marker item to name a corner or just remember what you call each of the four corners. Say we have ours named Lettuce corner, Caterpillar corner, Water Can corner, and Sunshine corner then the person in the middle closes their eyes and counts to ten while everyone very quietly races to a corner. Without peaking the person in the centre calls out "Caterpillar corner!" and everyone in that corner has to come join them in the middle. The kids had a lot of fun and plenty to talk about in sharing circle when we shared our favourite moments!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A big thank you to everyone!</span>Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-49205805990317032132015-06-30T16:20:00.000-07:002015-06-30T16:20:33.850-07:00Worms Love Leftovers!<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past Saturday morning welcomed in some beautiful summer weather. We started the day off with some weeding and watering of the Kids Grow plot as well as neighbouring plots with "Please Water Me" signs. After a week of almost non-stop sunshine and scorching weather, the plants definitely needed a long drink! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After finishing up with our gardening maintenance, the kids and their parents were thrilled to welcome Amy Sparks of Green Calgary, as she came <span style="color: #222222;">to teach us all about worms in the garden, and what they like and don't like to eat! We were very interested to learn about worm anatomy </span><span style="color: #222222;">(do you know which end of the worm their head is?!) with the help of her big (fake) worm friend, Squirmy Wormy! She also taught us how to tell apart baby, teenager and adult worms from each other. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We then sorted food and other items into "yummy", "yucky" or "maybe" piles trying to decide what we thought the worms would like to eat. Amy helped all the kids through this activity and explained that worms like a lot of the same things we like to eat, except for any meat, citrus-y or acidic foods, dairy and milk, salty foods, and garbage. Interesting!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After that, Amy brought out her (real, live!) worm friends for everyone to observe under magnifying glasses or hold (gently!). It was really incredible to see the kids were at first quite nervous and hesitant to actually touch and hold the worms but became quite comfortable and confident handling them. Most of the parents were too "grossed out" to hold them, but the kids held nothing back. They were able to pick out body parts of the worms that they had just learned about, and to see if a worm was a baby, teenager or adult (and even to see if they were pregnant based on how swollen their "clitellum" was!). The kids also loved seeing how worms would clump up into a big wriggly ball together as a "squirm of worms". </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Amy's time at the Kids Grow! garden up, everyone was eager for story time in the orchard. After story time, we enjoyed a snack of mandarin oranges (which the kids were quick to point out that, being a citrus fruit, the worms wouldn't like the peels!) and green grapes. Although it was scorching outside and very sunny, everyone was itching to play a game. First up was 'The Longest Worm', where we hid sparkly worm "pieces" (bits of pipecleaner or ribbon) all around the orchard. The kids were split into two teams: Team Worm and Team Squirmy Wormy. The teams had to try to find pieces of the worm and string them together to make "the longest worm". Amazingly, both team's worms ended up being the EXACT same length!! A tie!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After that, some of the older kids wanted to play "Farmer", where there are 2-3 "farmers" on one side of a rope/line with their "crops" (seed packages or plastic fruit) spread out on their "plot" that they have to protect. All of the other kids are "garden pests/animals" who stand on the other side of the rope. They have to capture as much of the farmer's crop as they can without being tagged. If they are tagged in the farmers plot, they have to freeze wait for an animal friend to unfreeze them by running under their arm. The kids played several rounds of this and finally it was time for sharing circle, where we all reflected on what learned and loved from the days activities and what Amy Spark had taught us about worms in the garden. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you Amy and Green Calgary!</span></div>
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Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-57026419572012557752015-06-24T22:27:00.002-07:002015-06-24T22:27:32.152-07:00Neighbour Day!This past Saturday, June 20th, we celebrated Neighbour Day! This is a very special day in Calgary because it celebrates the anniversary of the Calgary Floods two years ago as we remember and reflect on the support of the community and kind acts of our neighbours to get the city back in working order.<br />
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In the community garden, plot owners will put a 'Please Water Me' sign in their garden if they will be away and are relying on a friendly neighbour to help water the garden. With the scorching heat, these friendly acts of kindness are necessary as many vegetable, flower and other edible plants are sensitive to the heat and cannot survive drought-like conditions. The kids took the time to weed and water our garden and then headed over to other plots to water their garden's as well.<br />
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We tried to distract some of the father's that had shown up for the day's events to make a special Father's Day Craft. Each child had the chance to make their very own garden. They planted a variety of different crops including beans, corn and flowers. We also saw an abundance of wildlife in their gardens. Butterflies, dragonflies and ladybugs galore!<br />
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Next up was snack time! We had a delightful rainbow of colours on the table with red, green and yellow bell peppers from Community Natural Foods. We also harvested some thyme, sage and chives from our garden to make some herbed cream cheese on crackers. Yum! Check out the recipe:<br />
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<i>Ingredients</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Softened Cream Cheese</div>
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Fresh Sage</div>
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Fresh Chives</div>
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Fresh Thyme</div>
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Harlic </div>
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<i>Directions</i></div>
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1. Place cream cheese in a bowl and let it sit a room temperature for a few minutes to soften</div>
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2. Collect herbs from garden, the above herbs are suggestions, add to taste, you can also used dried herbs</div>
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3. wash and cut herbs into small pieces and add to cream cheese </div>
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4. finely grate garlic to taste and add to mixture</div>
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5. mix well and enjoy on crackers, toast, as a dip for vegetables! (for an intensified flavour, put the mixture in the fridge and let it sit overnight before consuming)</div>
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The day ended with a very fun game of hide and seek and we shared our favourites moments of the day together :)<br />
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Next week, we'll be learning all about worms!Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-56517943294822705012015-06-17T09:01:00.000-07:002015-06-19T09:01:36.353-07:00Helpers and Pests of the Garden Since it had rained heavily the day before, there was no need to water the garden so we decided to weed the community orchard for our opening activity of the day! We learned about why we engage in the task of weeding and how to do it properly in order to ensure the health of our fruit trees, strawberry patch and other plants in the beautiful orchard.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsdIUjsOlDFZbWqpofgB7skcBOJitCxH2w1LfK1s4yoXhp5c-IAfrc0pMM18jxISdgF9wzxL_a4AAK-2KBq_KR2H32H61Y4IuKRH3kTEIFRihl8gWJ000nPZljWIRZ9xstdjk6RAesSn2/s1600/20150613_105012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsdIUjsOlDFZbWqpofgB7skcBOJitCxH2w1LfK1s4yoXhp5c-IAfrc0pMM18jxISdgF9wzxL_a4AAK-2KBq_KR2H32H61Y4IuKRH3kTEIFRihl8gWJ000nPZljWIRZ9xstdjk6RAesSn2/s320/20150613_105012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We collected half a garbage bag full of weeds!</td></tr>
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One of the volunteers sneakily hid an assortment of felt and pipe cleaner animals and critters around the community garden and orchard for the kids to find. After the scavenging around to find all of them, we came together to talk about which ones are pests, which ones are helpers and why we want to naturally attract and deter animals and critters from our garden.<br />
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We then went on a walk around the garden and orchard to find evidence of pest damage on the plants. The red bumps on the currant plants indicate a aphid infestation and the holes on the potato plants and presence of many potato beetles told us that they were enjoying their feast a little too much.<br />
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Planting a variety of crops in our garden already makes it resistant to pest infestation. We also made a natural pesticide to ward off those pesky critters.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>Natural Pesticide Recipe</u></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Ingredients</i></div>
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5 cups water</div>
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Pinch of cayenne (chili powder)</div>
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Skins from one onion</div>
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Skins from one garlic bulb</div>
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<i>Directions</i></div>
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1. Peel garlic and onion and place the skins in a glass pitcher</div>
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2. Boil water and pour over garlic and onion skins, add pinch of cayenne and stir</div>
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3. Let the concoction sit overnight, strain and pour into spray bottle</div>
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4. Spray on the leaves of plants every few days</div>
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5. Pesticide will last for several areas in a cool area</div>
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6. Leftover skins can buried into the soil of the garden nearby plants </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEXuahxBqheWiwKCwEm3GtgQ2SHqcE9rJcpb2xv8qg0U7WLVKv6gms3jHcStmMJgz6oP8nuEqk9fnhz4Dx8OWZjs838OZFJxIIY1kpSDLUQp8RghdenFprtRBnYaXMVLgVkr1H_OC4J2G/s1600/10430465_554008411375394_619259145224086577_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEXuahxBqheWiwKCwEm3GtgQ2SHqcE9rJcpb2xv8qg0U7WLVKv6gms3jHcStmMJgz6oP8nuEqk9fnhz4Dx8OWZjs838OZFJxIIY1kpSDLUQp8RghdenFprtRBnYaXMVLgVkr1H_OC4J2G/s320/10430465_554008411375394_619259145224086577_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aphids eating the currant plant!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-STlpsVYKkeSfzkmoLU4G6E2NtA0U0lINCU2u2hGBZS5P8erk1pyDPOFK0dRF22CeWdFdLsM8Tj00ajtYGYG6wX5bJv1ZTzOG8GVOs2DR_rjmrBSZTlFqUU4O1EqTpEBb3ncQ606v0XG/s1600/10481578_554008444708724_5302922213978145165_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-STlpsVYKkeSfzkmoLU4G6E2NtA0U0lINCU2u2hGBZS5P8erk1pyDPOFK0dRF22CeWdFdLsM8Tj00ajtYGYG6wX5bJv1ZTzOG8GVOs2DR_rjmrBSZTlFqUU4O1EqTpEBb3ncQ606v0XG/s320/10481578_554008444708724_5302922213978145165_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot the potato beetle?</td></tr>
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After our educational journey in pests vs helpers, we read a story about a bumblebee named 'Buzz' and played a classic game of 'Capture the Crops'. Our day ended with a sharing circle about our favourite and most cherished parts of the day.<br />
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<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-42215737319868824002015-05-29T21:16:00.000-07:002015-06-01T20:22:48.030-07:00Kids Grow Returns!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUY-UZFqquy4jRdWFR22qk5JQAlNFItOFQjwxRSA7yNj7XVlInt8PKEmvAKGIZz__q0VNTXYkxsiURMt2GAqxDMVtj88EG3UYPLej3SFEgjEvV6thrwcUJuL-yRz0qcZ5Au72REB5VFpf3/s1600/garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUY-UZFqquy4jRdWFR22qk5JQAlNFItOFQjwxRSA7yNj7XVlInt8PKEmvAKGIZz__q0VNTXYkxsiURMt2GAqxDMVtj88EG3UYPLej3SFEgjEvV6thrwcUJuL-yRz0qcZ5Au72REB5VFpf3/s320/garden.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
We're excited to announce that Kids Grow will be returning for another season in Sunnyside! Unfortunately, due to a lack of resources and low turnout of participants, we are unable to continue programming at the Silver Springs Edible Garden. We want to warmly thank the Silver Springs community for openly welcoming us into their space and supporting the program in many ways.<br />
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We would like to invite you to join us for our first program on Saturday, June 6th from 10am-12pm at the <a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hillhurst+Sunnyside+Community+Garden/@51.0605368,-114.0719474,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x53716ff446304357:0x93e690502be39ada" target="_blank">Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Garden. </a><br />
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For those who are new to Kids Grow. We are a collaborative, community based program run by volunteers. The goal of Kids Grow is to involve children in community gardening, to increase gardening and food production knowledge, to promote healthy and sustainable food choices, build environmental awareness and create a sense of community.<br />
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Every week, we take care of our garden, take part in an exciting workshop, enjoy a delicious healthy snack and then participate in some fun crafts, games and activities! All ages welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Programming this year runs every Saturday from June 6th to August 29th. </div>
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We are going to encourage registration this year to better estimate participant numbers. Please register for our weekly events here below!<br />
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<a href="http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kids-grow-family-gardening-program-tickets-17180016893?ref=ebtnebregn" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Eventbrite - Kids Grow: Family Gardening Program" height="48" src="https://www.eventbrite.ca/custombutton?eid=17180016893" width="320" /></a><br />
Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-10490984945872874842014-09-02T22:49:00.000-07:002014-09-03T22:50:06.934-07:00And the Season Ends with Worms!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had our very last event of the season this past Saturday. To make the event an extra special day filled with exciting new information and experiences, we invited the hilarious and wise Mike Dorion of Living Soil Solutions to spend the day with us. He facilitated a vermiculture workshop and shared his knowledge about the idea living conditions of a worm, their eating habits, the differences between dirt and soil and even uncovered and disapproved some common worm myths! The children were especially excited to go on a hunt for worm cocoons. Did you know that worms lay cocoons and not eggs? Together, we learned about composting with worms and the benefits of practicing vermiculture in a community garden. </div>
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Harvesting was one of the main activities on the agenda as we had delicious kale, beans, peas, beets, carrots, swiss chard, spinach, pumpkins and various other types of squash to pick and take home! The children and their families learned about how to best harvest the fresh produce for optimal plant growth and we shared recipe ideas for all the goods that they were to bring home. <br />
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Kids Grow programming is now finished for the 2014 season. We appreciate the support, monetary and in-kind donations and attendance from all those involved!<br />
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Thank you to our Community Garden Partners: Hillhurst/Sunnyside Community Garden, Richard Smith, Christy Schaefer and the Silver Springs Edible Garden, Kay Wilford.<br />
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A big round of applause also goes out to all of our wonderful workshop facilitators who donated their time, supplies and expertise!<br />
<br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://growinghealthyfamilies.ca/" target="_blank">Dr. Kate Appleton, ND</a></span><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;" /><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/" target="_blank">Larissa Johnston and Courtney Novotny, Calgary Public Library</a></span><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;" /><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://www.poppyinnovations.ca/" target="_blank">Sharon McCormick, Poppy Innovations</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://www.livingsoil.ca/" target="_blank">Mike Dorion, Living Soil Solutions </a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">And lastly, thank you to all of our participants for your interest and enthusiasm in our program and your efforts in helping to build a healthy community!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><br /></span>Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-22034775580124454912014-08-27T16:32:00.000-07:002014-09-03T17:39:52.070-07:00Healing Herbs, Tasteful Tonics and Ravishing Recipes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Children's health is one of the most important topics of conversation especially now that obesity rates are on the rise and health problems that were once thought to only affect adults are being diagnosed in young children. <a href="http://growinghealthyfamilies.ca/" target="_blank">Dr. Kate Appleton, ND,</a> facilitated a wonderful workshop at Kids Grow to uncover myths about children's diets, claiming that they love to eat healthfully and that living a healthy lifestyle as a family is definitely plausible in today's processed, industrialized and newly-shaped food market. Yes, sometimes you will have to make use of sheer creativity or sneakiness to add the specific herbs, roots and tonics to your favourite recipes, but the benefits can go a long way. She shared some delicious alternative recipes for common household favourites that will be sure to meet nutritional requirements without having your children spit it out, push away plates or make funny faces.<br />
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Pretty in Pink Lemonade<br />
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1/4 cup liquid sweetener (pure maple syrup or honey)<br />
1 Tbsp freshly chopped ginger<br />
1 cup boiled water<br />
2-4 thin slices raw beets<br />
2.5 cups cold water<br />
minced fresh peppermint leaves<br />
1/2 cup lemon juice<br />
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Directions: Place the sweetener and ginger in a 1 litre glass jar. Pour in the just boiled water and let steep for 5 to 10 minutes before adding the beet slices. Add the water, peppermint and lemon juice.<br />
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Fruit Balls<br />
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1/2 cup dried apricots<br />
1/2 cup dried prunes<br />
1/2 cup almonds<br />
1/4 cup ground flaxseed<br />
1/2 cup shredded coconut<br />
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Directions: Slowly grind all ingredients except the coconut in a blender or food processor. Add a little water as needed to form a sticky dough. Form into 2-inch balls and roll in the coconut.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCLb7YTDUKlQskGnZzQi5-XWxJVmQ7QH9QfE7tNAUsOPdL60LoiST8ma5g8GFKLldxl4xTh_NC7TI5lYoGSEzBva08qzn0lcKsHGdp6rLfcjaRfqmYQZlAZeuks2qAEHQ1QkHifyOZ-Uu/s1600/20140823_141522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCLb7YTDUKlQskGnZzQi5-XWxJVmQ7QH9QfE7tNAUsOPdL60LoiST8ma5g8GFKLldxl4xTh_NC7TI5lYoGSEzBva08qzn0lcKsHGdp6rLfcjaRfqmYQZlAZeuks2qAEHQ1QkHifyOZ-Uu/s1600/20140823_141522.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a>At Silver Springs, we harvested our potatoes. The children and families engaged in an afternoon of hard work pulling out the withering away potato plants and then digging deep into the rich soil to uncover hidden edible gems! The children each got one to take home in appreciation of their hard work that day and the rest, totalling to 37 pounds were donated to the Calgary Food Bank.We held a discussion about the importance of giving back to the community. Those who visit the food bank are often greeted with an abundance of packaged, processed and non-perishable goods. By making a donation of fresh, local and organic produce, we are making a statement about the right of every Calgarian citizen no matter what situation they are in, where they live or what they look like to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Potatoes are also a staple in diets around the world regardless of place, culture and age and they can be prepared and consumed in so many different ways!<br />
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<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-79045973874170194312014-08-21T15:52:00.000-07:002014-08-21T15:52:34.307-07:00Organic Detergents and Harvest-Time!We'll whisper it... summer is slowly, gently drawing to a close, but there's no need to start worrying for now because our garden has also grown from the tiny seeds that we'd planted all that time ago into luscious, green plants ready for harvest!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey there, little guy! Where did you come from?</td></tr>
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After examining our plot, we began the day with an activity that was really central to the theme today -- "Going Green!" Using a fairly simple combination of water, vinegar, lemon zest, and some essential oils for added 'freshness,' we made our very own organic detergent, bottled-up and ready for use!<br />
Then it was snack-time and today we had quite the nutritious treat in store for everyone -- ants-on-a-log! Spread some almond-and-cashew-butter on some slices of celery sticks and sprinkle some raisins on top and you have yourself a wonderfully delicious snack!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVFNnF7UdkChga2cMahW2eUPtV7VduPSDVzMtPKniLvCoyQZFlY6DAKNnRzFz3AqixridrZPbGmBY5low6Kd703xmzGOoUBFg5S2jdjuKgleq0L3qTLOF00nBHcjzVO7gCG1uGtR2ZR6X/s1600/20140816_113753_Android.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVFNnF7UdkChga2cMahW2eUPtV7VduPSDVzMtPKniLvCoyQZFlY6DAKNnRzFz3AqixridrZPbGmBY5low6Kd703xmzGOoUBFg5S2jdjuKgleq0L3qTLOF00nBHcjzVO7gCG1uGtR2ZR6X/s1600/20140816_113753_Android.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting some 'ants' on a 'log' -- note our little bottles of organic detergent too!</td></tr>
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With our tummies all full, we then decided to read through a little bit of "The Lorax" in the shade to continue our environmental theme.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading "The Lorax" on a carpet of green!</td></tr>
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Then it was time for some games! Firstly, we played a little guess-the-card game where one person had to guess what card they had on their head with only the actions of the other players to help them out!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Guess what I am?"</td></tr>
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This was followed by our own very own "tree-hugger-game," created at the request of one of our kids at an earlier event. The premise being that one player would be lead blindfolded to a tree in the garden/orchard and using their sense of touch and maybe also how the tree 'hugs' you, you would then have to find your way back to the 'tree' when the blindfold was removed.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The players are led to their tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"There is an interesting texture to this tree"</td></tr>
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Over at the Sunnyside location, we also had a chance to test out our observational skills as we went around the garden seeing what compositions we could come up of the wonderful produce waiting to be harvested!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rohan displays his pumpkin drawing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cassandra's butterflies float through her drawing of the garden!</td></tr>
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Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-11955203467707578512014-08-12T12:46:00.000-07:002014-08-20T15:26:19.384-07:00From Garden to Table<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Did you know that Food Miles are the distance your food has traveled since it was created until it reaches your shopping cart as a consumer? The longer the distance your food traveled to get to your plate, the greater harm to the environment, the more chances the farmer is losing out on profits and money is going to manufacturers, and the more likely it is that chemicals and other harmful substances were used to prepare the goods for long bouts of travel. It is beyond amazing to think of the sheer accessibility of food we have today as we browse through the supermarket. We have access to exotic goods including fresh figs, avocados, mangoes, dragon fruit and just to name a few. Enjoying the benefits of world trade should not certainly cause you shame, as buying these goods is simply enjoying the benefits of living in today's world. However, when possible, buy Fair Trade so that the the profits are at least reaching the farmers and those who actually go through the physical labour of growing, caring for and harvesting your produce. Reliance on this food poses serious threats to our sustainability as a city and greater country, and forces farmers to use alternative and unsafe methods of food production to ensure travel and shelf life. Buying locally produced goods and/or growing your own food will help to reduce your food miles significantly. Check out this great book from the Calgary Public Library entitled 'How did that get in my Lunchbox?" by Lucia Gaggoti about the story of how food travels from farm to table. <br />
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Many people think that growing your own food in Calgary is too challenging, not possible or not worth it considering the short growing season as compared to other warmer and more tropical climates around the world. Today, there are over 100 community gardens present in Calgary and the participants prove the breadth, quality and variety of produce that can be grown quite easily in our climate. This Saturday, August 9th at Kids Grow, we were very fortunate to have Poppy Innovations come out to facilitate workshops at both garden locations on nourishment from edible greens from the garden. Both adults and children were surprised to hear about some of the edible greens in the garden that are commonly thrown out. Did you know that you can consume beet, radish and carrot leaves? We've heard that they are all great in salads, beet leaves can be especially tasty in a casserole and carrot leaves make a mean pesto!<br />
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After an information session on the health benefits of consuming these commonly grown greens, we harvested some of our garden plot to make a delicious garden salad together. Ingredients included swiss chard, kale, beet leaves, spinach, sweet peas and raspberries. We then prepared a hearty vinaigrette made from red wine vinegar, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to dress our salad. After consuming our delicious treat, we made individual tea sachets full of freshly grown mint, coriander and raspberries to add to water for an alternative to sugary drink mixes we often consume during the summertime. We sincerely thank Sharon and Karyn from Poppy Innovations for coming out and spending the day with Kids Grow!<br />
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Poppy Innovations is hosting a 'Healthy Selfie' campaign. Take a selfie of you or your family engaging in a healthy activity such as gardening, eating healthful food or exercising and share it on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PoppyInnovationsLtd/timeline" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. If your picture gets the most likes, you could win a FujiFilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera! Poppy Innovations also offers cooking classes for families starting in the Fall. For more information about the organization, please visit their website <a href="http://poppyinnovations.ca/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-66729110607990076972014-08-07T21:45:00.000-07:002014-08-07T21:45:38.582-07:00It's time for a scavenger hunt!<div style="text-align: left;">
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Following our gardening segment, we decided to read a story, in fact a guessing game, about plant identification! This was in preparation for our scavenger hunt in which the children and their families were asked to search the garden for various greens, veggies, flowers and berries! For some extra excitement, we also asked the kids to retrieve scattered puzzle pieces around the garden/orchard to build our mystery puzzle in conclusion of the day's adventure. A lot about plant growth was learned at this event, especially when our participants had trouble finding potatoes and beets in the garden! We also asked families to find some fun artifacts such as a crazy hamster (picture found below), a ken doll doing the splits and a pig wearing earrings. The kids searched high and low, far and near for all of the items on the list and were able to find almost everything. We also had them on a hunt for nature's creatures; a worm, a beetle and an ant. We had to pur our thinking caps on to find these creatures, as they aren't always visible to us wherever we look. After checking under rocks for beetles, digging in the ground for worms and peeking into cracks on the sidewalk for ants, we were successful in finding all the items on our list!</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Since we've had some picky eaters at Kids Grow, especially in the department of vegetables, one of our awesome team members created rainbow cards for each child that pose the following question: Can you taste the colours of the rainbow this summer? The purpose of these cards is to encourage trying new vegetables in the garden and embracing new looks, flavours and textures. This week, we shared a snack of mini cucumbers and French Breakfast radishes. At Sunnyside, the kids were able to add fresh raspberries from the communal plot to the our snack and at Silver Springs, we were lucky to try some new varieties of berries and delicious, mouth-watering snap peas. Our day ended some exciting games of 'Fruit Salad' and 'Capture the Crops' and of course our weekly sharing circle to share our favourite part of the day!</span><br />
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You don't have to be an plant expert or hiking enthusiast to take a nature walk. Go on a hunt outdoors, spend some time in the sun and make time to appreciate the wonderful creations of nature that surround you. </div>
Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-41485007533979495002014-07-28T12:17:00.000-07:002014-07-28T12:17:30.858-07:00Story Telling in the GardenThis week the Calgary Public Library visited us at the garden! At Hillhurst-Sunnyside Larissa Johnston from the Louise Riley branch came and read us lots of fun books. We learned about how friends can help us when we're scared. We also read a book where vegetables were made into cars, planes, skis and much more.<br />
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We took a break with our snack of apples and mangos (which were a bit hit!). After our snack we created our own stories. We passed around pictures that could inspire our stories - like Jo the Ladybug and Sally the Chickadee. After we made up stories of our own we worked together to create a story together! Each person would take a turn adding a sentence or two to the story. </div>
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That was a lot of sitting down so we played some tag to get up and running. We played octopus tag - where we had to join arms and run together to catch everyone. We also played tree tag where whoever is tagged freezes and can only be unfrozen if their friend helps them. All of these activities helped us realize that we are most successful when we work together and have our friends or family to help us. </div>
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Over at Silver Springs Edible Garden Courtney Novotny joined us from the Crowfoot library. We read some more stories and sang a song about peas in a pod. We also had time to draw what we found in our garden. Our chard, kale, potatoes, pumpkins and peas are growing really well! We even tried some of the kale and peas (in addition to our snack of apples and mango).</div>
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We wanted to run around a bit after that so we played Tree Tag and a variation of it called Banana Tag (in this game it takes two people to unfreeze frozen individuals). All that running tired us out so we played Tangled Tree Roots. In this game we all stood in a circle and held hands with someone who wasn't standing next to us. This meant we were all tangled and we needed to work together to untangle ourselves! Again, this showed us that we can achieve more when we work together. </div>
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Don't worry if you missed our activities this week - you can always come next week. </div>
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<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hillhurst+Sunnyside+Community+Garden/@51.0604484,-114.0697097,18z/data=%214m2%213m1%211s0x53716ff446304357:0x93e690502be39ada" href="https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hillhurst+Sunnyside+Community+Garden/@51.0604484,-114.0697097,18z/data=%214m2%213m1%211s0x53716ff446304357:0x93e690502be39ada" style="color: #6dc6dd; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Garden/ Orchard</a><br style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="color: #606060; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">10am-12pm</span><br style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="color: #606060; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">OR</span><br style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.108248,-114.200102,3a,75y,136.93h,66.21t/data=%213m4%211e1%213m2%211s1LLs-Gj8rMfhb8WuUCOf0g%212e0%216m1%211e1" href="https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.108248,-114.200102,3a,75y,136.93h,66.21t/data=%213m4%211e1%213m2%211s1LLs-Gj8rMfhb8WuUCOf0g%212e0%216m1%211e1" style="color: #6dc6dd; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Silver Springs Edible Garden</a><br style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="color: #606060; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">2pm-4pm<br /><br /><strong>What to Bring: Water, sunscreen and your enthusiasm for gardening!</strong></span></div>
<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-6833889284361828592014-07-23T23:06:00.006-07:002014-07-23T23:07:18.464-07:00Berry-Painting and a little bit of YogaWe had two activities through which the kids were able to channel their talents today! Both were intimately tied to the nature we are a part of and cannot do without and served as a reminder as to how important it is for us to be conscious of this relation!<br />
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Firstly, some art, and for a change, instead of using another chemical-based tube-stored paint, we opted to create our own - using berries!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNB7vocGcReW4VNtyXFjoyIq6hiFyVfdcNcNLkNbr-6sn7Zum_yg-FRw-AmEIjgZrQ7LmepPQKWg1rs8zXc7-n_WrOjX_krmriplQjm4InSMAIOerParqiFrWf5CNfqxKk-KkaciWlThX1/s1600/20140719_104846_Android.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNB7vocGcReW4VNtyXFjoyIq6hiFyVfdcNcNLkNbr-6sn7Zum_yg-FRw-AmEIjgZrQ7LmepPQKWg1rs8zXc7-n_WrOjX_krmriplQjm4InSMAIOerParqiFrWf5CNfqxKk-KkaciWlThX1/s1600/20140719_104846_Android.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
Mushing together some raspberries, we were able to obtain a nice bright red, while a little more counter-intuitively, blueberries gave us a deeper red with a heavier tone. A modest palette but enough to splatter around the page to interesting effect. The 'paint' also had a nice consistency to it which allowed us to stick pieces of bark and other plant material to our page to create a nice collage of sorts.<br />
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Naturally, as often happens in any great artistic endeavor, the journey can get a little messy, and there was definitely a little bit of running back and forth to the tap to wash our hands but in the end, a common theme in the sharing circle was that the kids definitely enjoyed their little moment of expressing themselves through the medium of fruit-mush-on-paper!<br />
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My personal favorite of the day though was a little bit of improvisational yoga in the garden! In the absence of a proper yoga-teacher, we decided to use a little gem of a book called the yoga game to see if we could solve a riddle given to us and then interpreting the response in a yoga pose! We had the tree (vrksasana), the cat (svanasana, marjariasana, bitilasana... all combined into the one animal!), and also the cobra (bhujangasana)! A little revelation for me was that I could pull off the headstand after-all (at our Silver Springs location with a little help from a friend :) ). Again, a great day to be out among the green with the only unexpected weather outcome being a little grass-shower from all the kids at the end of the Sunnyside session - awesome!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Cobra" - could you tell?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crouching tiger...resetting before another star jump!</td></tr>
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Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-82103016322274929462014-07-17T00:14:00.000-07:002014-07-21T11:49:39.758-07:00To the dust all shall return!<div class="MsoNormal">
The theme for the day was composting and naturally we had
quite a few composting-related activities that occupied us this week!</div>
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At the Sunnyside location, we began by inspecting our plot
and making sure our crops were healthy and green. We spent a good portion of
our time ensuring we didn’t have too many weeds competing with our plantation,
and with the occasion, I also got a chance to finally learn all the different
greens we had growing. Calgary’s been rather dry and warm these past few weeks
so we made sure we generously watered our plot as well.</div>
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For the activities, we began first of all by learning the
essentials of composting by reading through this beautiful picture book and then to
test our knowledge we played compost-or-not classifying game. But first, we had
to go on a little treasure hunt to find all the ‘item-cards’ listing some
things we could find in our garden before deciding if we’d throw them into our
compost bin. Naturally, when things are hidden, sometimes they stay a little
too well hidden so we were faced with a frantic all-hands-on-deck period when
we all tried to hunt down the final card, but luckily they were all found in
the end!</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We had some obvious ones such as apple cores and other
organic food items which are, of course, definitely compostable. We also had
not-so-obvious ones such as t-shirts and clothing items of which only the
cotton bits or other organic fibres are compostable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, we had a chance to make our own little compost
starter cups which we made by first grabbing a scoop of the ready to use
compost from the garden – the ‘brown’. Our snack for the day was everyone’s
favourite fruit – bananas! – so we were able to use the chopped-up peels as the
‘green’. The trick to getting the compost going is to layer the greens and the
browns and making sure to keep the mixture nice and moist with a nice
sponge-cake-like consistency. My apologies if the next time you go to enjoy
your sponge-cake with some tea, you are reminded of a garden compost, although,
that’s not altogether a bad result either if it gets us maintaining our own
composts at home :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZxhlPu6WZ119_P3IeI9FCME9HTFwVvKdfLc2dCuXkD-PzPkZ_O2jza-OhjxrhRmoNTreCCdHfLnZTnhVWIDB8F1WzZwe3jTcUBmlC2Q8bDm91T3cZteHcPIuFiF13luPJaqm8P_8748E/s1600/20140712_154157_Android.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZxhlPu6WZ119_P3IeI9FCME9HTFwVvKdfLc2dCuXkD-PzPkZ_O2jza-OhjxrhRmoNTreCCdHfLnZTnhVWIDB8F1WzZwe3jTcUBmlC2Q8bDm91T3cZteHcPIuFiF13luPJaqm8P_8748E/s1600/20140712_154157_Android.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These activities we were able to replicate
pretty smoothly over at over Silver Springs location, but with the added bonus
that we had time for some games at the end – nothing rounds out a nice, warm
afternoon better than a few rounds of
‘what-time-is-it-Mr/Ms/Mrs/Queen/King-Wolf’!</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-5016462714697352832014-07-11T09:11:00.000-07:002014-07-11T09:11:31.966-07:00Can you hear what I hear?Birds seem to be abundant in the city of Calgary but we tend to overlook and become oblivious towards the common group of pigeons that hover over a green field in the summer or the crow that caws at you on your daily commute to work. What role do these birds play in our community, the greater ecosystem and more specifically our garden?<br />
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These are a few of the questions we began to explore at our Kids Grow event on Saturday, July 5th. We began by familiarizing ourselves with the common birds of Calgary. Many people are familiar with the Mallards and Geese that inhabit the surrounding bodies of water and the crows and pigeons that socialize in public areas but how much do we know about the starlings and sparrows? After our information session conducted through a fun game of matching bird pictures with their corresponding facts and bird calls, we took a nature walk to see what birds we could find. Our hearing skills were surely heightened on this adventure as we had to find the proprietors of each distinct sound amongst the harmonious bird chatter.<br />
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After our nature walk, we headed back to the garden to make some bird feeders. Many varieties of bird seed that can be bought at your local grocery stores contain preservatives and other not-so-nice things that can harm our wildlife. We decided to make our own using goodies that are safe for birds and completely edible for humans. Another problem highlighted with bird feeders is the sheer dependence birds can develop to an man-made source of food. The bigger your bird feeder and the more you refill it, the greater the chances are that birds in your area will keep coming back for more and develop a reliance on your goods. Ensure that your feeder is small and contains a variety of seeds and dried fruits that can be supplementary to their diet and not fully meet their dietary requirements. We made bird feeders out of orange peels! <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/gardening/natural-handmade-bird-feeders/index.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the instructions. <br />
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Succeeding our bird feeder construction were some fun bird-themed games! We began with the 'Duck Waddle' and finished with 'The Little Lost Birdie' in which parents and children paired up, one as the mama bird and one as the blindfolded baby bird. The mama bird would announce her specific bird call to the baby and the little birdie would have to use her listening skills to find her mama bird!<br />
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To learn more about birds in Calgary, check out the <a href="http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SE-parks/Inglewood-Bird-Sanctuary.aspx" target="_blank">Inglewood Bird Sanctuary</a>. The walking trails are unfortunately closed due to the flood damage from last year but they continue to offer information through their nature and free tours to those interested.<br />
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<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0Calgary, AB, Canada51.0453246 -114.0581012000000150.7256451 -114.70354820000001 51.3650041 -113.4126542tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-76480606212562934332014-07-02T21:33:00.001-07:002014-07-02T21:33:44.902-07:00From Seed To Fruit<div style="text-align: center;">
The forecasts had been ominous but in the end, Calgary was able to offer us another fine day to spend outside, and what better way to enjoy it than working the land again!</div>
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Today’s activities centred on exploring the plant life cycle. After some very productive work de-weeding the orchard, the kids at the Sunnyside location were also quite adept at piecing together the whole narrative from the seed to the plant which flowers before finally bearing the fruit containing the seeds to start it all over again. It’s definitely a process that we overlook too often, yet it never ceases to amaze us when we contemplate how all the potentialities of a plant are contained in the seed – life’s original ‘miracle,’ that sustains all other life on this planet!</div>
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We also read a little story together that visualized this idea beautifully by illustrating the diversity of flowers and fruits carried on this Earth (who doesn’t love children’s books?!) and the kids were definitely recognizing a lot more of the plants than I was! Naturally, we finished off with a little game, this time we played magic plants. Again, I portrayed the poor farmer who has to ward away trespassers on his field who evade his attentions by ‘freezing’ into plants just when he turns around… a wonderful way to round off the fun!</div>
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Over to the Silver Springs garden, and from the close-knit village-feel of Sunnyside, we found ourselves in the wide expanses, and swooping mountain vistas of the north-western part of the city. Our plants were definitely sprouting and garden had itself a newly-crafted seating area as well. The kids harnessed their artistic talents in composing some really creative pictures that incorporated actual plant-material with colourful additions of their own which all melded nicely together on the page, I have to say! Check out this great composition from Lucian!</div>
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<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-58570211967377143022014-06-25T23:09:00.002-07:002014-06-25T23:10:36.268-07:00Friends of the Garden <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our garden is still empty but we're hoping to see some sprouts soon! While we are patiently waiting for our garden to turn from dirt and seeds into lusciously green edibles, we spent the day learning about garden pests vs garden helpers. As both the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Garden and the Silver Springs Edible Garden both operate on a strictly organic basis, pests become a major concern; digging up and eating our crops, nipping holes in the leaves of our greens and stealing nutrients our plants require to survive. The children and parents learned a lot about which bugs and creatures we want to attract to our garden and which ones might be inhibiting the growth or overall health of our plants. Did you know that spiders are good for your garden? Spiders eat mosquitoes, wasps and other pesky bugs that we want to keep away from our garden as well as our gardeners. For an introduction to the critters that we often find in our garden for our little friends, <a href="http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=17880&CategoryID=9459" target="_blank">click here</a> to watch Ernie from Sesame street exploring nature in his neighbourhood. For our more advanced readers, learn about how you can keep those pesky mosquitoes out of your garden with the power of plants from an article in Canadian gardening: <a href="http://www.canadiangardening.com/how-to/pests-and-diseases/six-plants-that-repel-mosquitoes/a/42758" target="_blank">'Six Plants that Repel Mosquitos' by Anja Sonnenberg.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">Together, we had a discussion about how to naturally attract helpers and deter pests so that we are not harming wildlife and our greater ecosystem. Our delicious snack for the day was a combination of the sweet undertones and crunchy textures of green peppers and cucumbers. Yum Yum! We featured a story entitled 'Monarch and Milkweed' by </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">author Helen Frost which describes the symbiotic relationship of plants and butterflies, each helping each other to survive and thrive in nature. We ended the day with some exercise and fresh air with a Kids Grow favourite, 'The Farmer Game'. One person plays the Farmer who plants their crop in the field and then they must be on the lookout for garden pests that sneak into the field and steal the delicious fruits and veggies. From this game, we learned that planting more than you require is a good technique to ensure that there is enough to feed the farmer and his or her family even when pests come along and steal some of the crop.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzLfK5nnzbq8uCTk8o2_kcj6HnsEqu3XTY9bHGaqIAKHFlSyxnIz6Lkia7fOM9uvuq4Wkq9AJQbC6DYtGMRHhQWmjXYwQb8SFwfDneGARgNswh8ZqynKraj07P-GzMZ98tpFbWthzQwN-/s1600/20140621_113542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzLfK5nnzbq8uCTk8o2_kcj6HnsEqu3XTY9bHGaqIAKHFlSyxnIz6Lkia7fOM9uvuq4Wkq9AJQbC6DYtGMRHhQWmjXYwQb8SFwfDneGARgNswh8ZqynKraj07P-GzMZ98tpFbWthzQwN-/s1600/20140621_113542.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;">If you missed out on the fun this week, don't worry because Kids Grow will be running throughout the summer months until August 31st. Drop by this Saturday, June 28th for some more fun games, activities and crafts geared toward gardening. </span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hillhurst+Sunnyside+Community+Garden/@51.0604484,-114.0697097,18z/data=%214m2%213m1%211s0x53716ff446304357:0x93e690502be39ada" target="_blank">Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Garden/ Orchard</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.108248,-114.200102,3a,75y,136.93h,66.21t/data=%213m4%211e1%213m2%211s1LLs-Gj8rMfhb8WuUCOf0g%212e0%216m1%211e1" target="_blank">Silver Springs Edible Garden</a><br />
2pm-4pm<br />
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What to bring? Water, sunscreen and your enthusiasm for gardening!<br />
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<u><b>*Kids Grow Cancellation Policy*</b></u> If it lighting raining or drizzling outside, Kids Grow events will still run! However, in case of heavy rainfall, thundershowers, hail and other extremely unpleasant weather conditions, we will cancel the day's events. Make sure you check our Facebook/Twitter feed before you leave in case you are unsure<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITZYiYXyz0QhR8O1_XL8R3lHzq7DB_1gtEZHTrWYFzYyaxYNdUeQ_UbSLl9LqTPKazU_P__qLfYkExsRDyAxSAPHViMBrDSL4btQPIPEAv0tZpeFUFjGIfinS0svF6ltVVBdVTbqMeghp/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITZYiYXyz0QhR8O1_XL8R3lHzq7DB_1gtEZHTrWYFzYyaxYNdUeQ_UbSLl9LqTPKazU_P__qLfYkExsRDyAxSAPHViMBrDSL4btQPIPEAv0tZpeFUFjGIfinS0svF6ltVVBdVTbqMeghp/s1600/12.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
What at first looked to be a rainy day turned around and was bright, beautiful and sunny. Our first day back in the garden was a huge success! We had a great turnout of children and their families both old and new to our program. We started with a general introduction to the Kids Grow program, an overview of community gardening in Calgary and gave participants a sneak peak of our event plans for the summer of 2014. This was followed by our theme of the day: Planting our garden. The children worked together to choose what kinds of vegetables, greens and flowers they wanted to grow and then we decorated popsicle stick garden stakes to label our plot. After all the hard work planting, we wouldn't want to forget what we have grown! We talked about how to plant seeds, the germination process and figured out what plants require to grow and thrive. Each location enjoyed a delicious snack of bush green beans and grape tomatoes generously donated to us by <a href="http://www.sunnysidemarket.ca/" target="_blank">Sunnyside Natural Market</a>.The kids raved over the snack and there wasn't a single bean or tomato left by the end of the day!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSo4DNm6MBcS-1WESMGZso-pcxqe2yTjzMh_YVyGsgaw3vrx27w8UBiy-C3f7abv8534rVRrsQbXExNQ9KV3Rn10HUtGKBFU6fi18M3McmFV-1ZjFlM0yTgHZROKKyZVAOGa3QV5G5all/s1600/emptygardenplot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSo4DNm6MBcS-1WESMGZso-pcxqe2yTjzMh_YVyGsgaw3vrx27w8UBiy-C3f7abv8534rVRrsQbXExNQ9KV3Rn10HUtGKBFU6fi18M3McmFV-1ZjFlM0yTgHZROKKyZVAOGa3QV5G5all/s1600/emptygardenplot.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>We began at Sunnyside with some hard work weeding and preparing the soil for planting. Each child took a rake or a shovel and began breaking down the tough soil before we mixed in a bag of compost to revitalize the nutrients. Under all the weeds, we found our hardy mint plant from last year, boasting with large and fragrant mint leaves. Working as a team, the children and their families planted our beloved garden plot with many different types of vegetables and greens; Swiss Chard, Peas, Beans, Radish, Carrots, Kale, Chives, Spinach, Squash and Mesculin. Our plot might look empty now but we sure are hoping for a bountiful harvest at the end of the season! </div>
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Over at Silver Springs, the lovely community garden members had started
some potatoes and pumpkins for us! The potatoes are growing really well already! We planted our other bed with beans, kale, peas, two different types of squash, and cucumber.</div>
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To end the day at both Sunnyside and Silver Springs, we got some fresh air, exercise and our intake of Vitamin D for the day by playing games of Caterpillar tag, Cucumber tag and Magic Garden. To recap our favourite parts of the day we finished with a sharing circle where all participants got to share their experiences with planting our garden. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPCjkGOH7EpGn2f_mwTiDtUk35QjdJ9ya6eDm4pRyE8yQJ2py2uEp0ya3fuAViak3pnYQmtE22yGH8O0UffQq3lBXlE4nWwphGSqnk7tJ_oNvZDSzrGU_MG1dd3WU6ztsmnsLwEtEqIhl/s1600/123.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><br />
If you missed out on the fun last week be sure to join us this Saturday, June 28th to learn about garden pests and garden helpers, have a delicious healthy snack, story time and play some fun games!<br />
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<b>Where?</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hillhurst+Sunnyside+Community+Garden/@51.0604484,-114.0697097,18z/data=%214m2%213m1%211s0x53716ff446304357:0x93e690502be39ada" target="_blank">Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Garden/ Orchard</a><br />
<a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hillhurst+Sunnyside+Community+Garden/@51.0604484,-114.0697097,18z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x53716ff446304357:0x93e690502be39ada" target="_blank"></a>10am-12pm<br />
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<a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.108248,-114.200102,3a,75y,136.93h,66.21t/data=%213m4%211e1%213m2%211s1LLs-Gj8rMfhb8WuUCOf0g%212e0%216m1%211e1" target="_blank">Silver Springs Edible Garden</a><br />
2pm-4pm<br />
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What to bring? Water, sunscreen and your enthusiasm for gardening!<br />
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<u><b>*Kids Grow Cancellation Policy*</b></u> If it lighting raining or drizzling outside, Kids Grow events will still run! However, in case of heavy rainfall, thundershowers, hail and other extremely unpleasant weather conditions, we will cancel the day's events. Make sure you check our Facebook/Twitter feed before you leave in case you are unsure<br />
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<br />Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934205330204806135.post-64414353898852937122014-05-30T11:16:00.003-07:002014-05-30T11:16:58.724-07:00We're Back!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's almost that time of year again! The grass is green, the flowers are blooming and the air is warm. Kids Grow will be back and running for our third season at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Garden and our second season at the Silver Springs Edible Garden. </div>
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To those of you who are new to Kids Grow, we are a student-run organization aiming to incorporate children's gardening programming into existing community gardens within Calgary to empower children through healthy eating, gardening and food production knowledge and environmental stewardship. We run free weekly events every Saturday throughout the spring and summer months to provide children and their families with fun and engaging workshops facilitated by Kids Grow team members and experts within the Calgary community. We also have games, crafts, and other garden-centered activities. Events last two hours and include a delicious healthy snack. Programming is designed for children ages 3 and up but we strive to accommodate children of all ages, so all families are welcome. Kids Grow is a drop-in program meaning that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. </div>
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We have also expanded to include the two University of Calgary Child Care Centres on campus! A team of environmental design students are busy working on a permaculture-based garden design, building will begin shortly and the families, children, staff and university community will be able to enjoy gardening programming this summer. </div>
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For the community programs, we've selected our starting date: <b>Saturday June 14h at 10am-12pm (Hillhurst/Sunnyside) and 2-4pm (Silver Springs).</b> Come join us for an introduction to the Kids Grow program, some fun games and help us plant our garden plots for the 2014 season!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxI2x_4Hv7UCEwvlLp8mYHr6fHRjI1A3DalI8qI3jL1l5o0A6FWvSC572BYvnEU-EsSaaXUh-1sqsGrwGylIaphxsEGN8DRGpdPS48WLzdnVjj8lJ-kbwW4MeOMk_YtKIGCHzZyAwU7uua/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxI2x_4Hv7UCEwvlLp8mYHr6fHRjI1A3DalI8qI3jL1l5o0A6FWvSC572BYvnEU-EsSaaXUh-1sqsGrwGylIaphxsEGN8DRGpdPS48WLzdnVjj8lJ-kbwW4MeOMk_YtKIGCHzZyAwU7uua/s1600/5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Look how much fun we had last year! </div>
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This year, to handle the expansion of the program, there are two co-coordinators that will organize and facilitate the programming along with our Peer Helpers.</div>
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Meet: Anisha and Hannah!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime4LBCY5DwoVS6Ohvj9l1THWrBDCYsSYhbHdrrB4Umt418nqx15XS6Zuyjuo4CTE-yZFpf5lI9GrR-zrUJeZ-9gwJFCODKtv3HxHwEr-vdzmJlRiUm0kXVjc1mkARsJz2Qtm1m3hEtAbQ/s1600/Kids+Grow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime4LBCY5DwoVS6Ohvj9l1THWrBDCYsSYhbHdrrB4Umt418nqx15XS6Zuyjuo4CTE-yZFpf5lI9GrR-zrUJeZ-9gwJFCODKtv3HxHwEr-vdzmJlRiUm0kXVjc1mkARsJz2Qtm1m3hEtAbQ/s1600/Kids+Grow.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello! My name is Anisha and I'm a student entering the elementary education program in Fall 2014. I have been involved with Kids Grow! since it's initiation in the summer of 2012 and I'm very excited to see it's continued success and expansion. I am passionate about ensuring that children are empowered through education about food, gardening, community building and environmental awareness. A fun fact about me would be my obsession with green tea as I would literally drink bathtubs full of it if I could! </span></div>
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Hi everyone! I've spent my first two years at the university in the music program
and I'm now pursuing a degree in Social Work. I'm really excited to work with
Kids Grow this summer because it's a wonderful program that teaches kids
really valuable skills about gardening and sustainability. A fun fact about
me is I'm allergic to kale.<br />
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We don't have any pictures from this year yet, but check back soon as we're sure it's going to be as spectacular as last year was!</div>
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Painting the Kids Grow banner at the</div>
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Silver Springs Edible Garden, summer of 2013.</div>
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Kids Growhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667662534799459489noreply@blogger.com5