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A trio of tower planters at R.F. Staples School in Westlock have been providing educational opportunities for students to study plant life for the last three years.
Junior high science teacher Anne-Marie Bokenfohr said she saw the tower gardens at a teacher convention three years ago and with the approval of parent council, the school applied for a TD Canada grant from the bank’s Friends of the Environment Foundation and successfully purchased the planters in 2016.
The planters are based on an aeroponics system, where soil is replaced with nutrient-rich water in a vertical drip. In this way, students get to learn about alternatives to soil, said Bokenfohr.
Grade 7s get more use out of the tower planters, with lessons on food sources and uses of food, since the curriculum for that grade is more plant-focused. However, Bokenfohr also has four Grade 9 students who helped her plant and care for the gardens.
While growing cucumbers last year, for example, students got a practical lesson in pollination.
“We don’t have bees in school, so we get the kids to figure out which are male and female plants,” said Bokenfohr.
On June 11, representatives from TD Canada donated another $1,587 to upgrade the project.
The school is using the grant “for some upgrades to the tower gardens to enhance their educational value. Growth rates and plant variety will also be increased through these upgrades,” said local TD branch manager Cindy Teske.
The tower planter still standing in Bokenfohr’s classroom holds eggplant, basil, peppers and dill among vegetables and herbs. They have kept it up since September, while the other one she’s in charge of came down not too long ago.
With the grant, Bokenfohr upgraded the lights on the towers, bought new rockwool cubes and a special addition for microgreens like oregano, dill and pansies.
Because the towers have their own artificial light system, they also work to liven up some classrooms that don’t have windows, like one of Bokenfohr’s labs.
To end the school year, science classes get to taste-test the red peppers they grew in the planters.
“Some of the foods department once in a while will grab stuff,” Bokenfohr noted.
