On June 3, 2015 the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission released their final report on the legacy of the Indian Residential School System. As part of the closing ceremonies, a Heart Garden was planted at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. School children wrote messages of reconciliation on hearts and planted them in the ground. In the spirit of reconciliation, students at Palliser Heights school were inspired to create our own Heart Garden at our school in Moose Jaw, SK.
Our goals for this project are three-fold:
1-To attend to the TRC Calls to Action to commemorate the legacy of residential schools and work towards reconciliation
2-To create a teaching garden space
3-To beautify an unsightly part of our school yard.
All our students learned about the history of residential schools in Canada and created both a Project of Heart Tile as well as a Heart for our pathway to the Heart Garden
We raised money and received many in-kind donations which allowed us to create a fenced in garden space, with irrigation and raised beds. We planted pumpkins, potatoes, carrots, beets, tomatoes (from the Tomatosphere project), Saskatoon berry bushes and various herbs. This fall we invited local chefs to help us cook up the produce.
We also set aside a corner of the garden for plants that are native to Saskatchewan. We received many seedlings from the First Nations University.
We are truly grateful for all the help we have received with this project!