Edible School Gardens
Mamquam Edible School Yard (MESY)
In 2015 we built the Mamquam Edible School Yard Project (MESY). What has started with a few raised beds has evolved into a productive garden space that supports many food crops, ornamental flowers, and native plants.
There are 30+ raised beds, a few in-ground beds, a garden shed, a wash station, friendship benches, and a pollinator hotel to house our mason bees!
A greenhouse was added to the space in 2018 to support our multi-season programming and food production. We are now able to start all our crops from seed in late winter and have thriving hot crops throughout the summer.
Our newest addition to the space (2025) is a shade structure that grounds our outdoor classroom and enables us to bring our best, most attentive selves to garden class even on those super sunny or rainy days.
Each classroom attends garden class once a week for a 30 minute lesson and activity. The students not only learn about growing plants but also about biodiversity, soil health, compost, plant anatomy, seed saving and so much more. As much as possible the garden teacher will incorporate cooking and food preparation into their classes so the students get to taste their bounty! It’s been proven a great way to introduce students to new foods and recipes and to get them to try their hand at cooking themselves.
Living Lab (retrofitted shipping container) with outdoor water station and permanent roof structure
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Our 20x40 ft greenhouse with outdoor classroom
Nina LaFlamme photography
Otherwise MESYs food crops and flowers get transferred to our Downtown School Farm site where they contribute to our CSA boxes or are sold on our farm stand (Wednesdays between 3-6pm). All the funds raised at our farm stand go towards Squamish CAN's food security projects. To find out about the most recent updates to our ongoing projects visit our blog or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
Special thank you to the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation Envirofund for their generous support towards purchasing and installing the Living Lab shipping container, which serves as a landmark for the garden education program, a central point for Squamish CAN supplies and operational tools, as well as a gathering space for our staff to convene.
Pollinator Hotel at MESY
Edible Schoolyard
Marissa Carlberg
Greenhouse
Marie-ève Trigg
VEG
Stephanie Heaton
Valleycliffe Elementary Garden (VEG)
In the spring of 2021, Squamish CAN and Valleycliffe Elementary teamed up to bring the school and edible garden program, modelled after MESY.
With generous donations from parents, teachers and the kids, we were able to redo the eight boxes on-site and provide seven of the ten classes with 30 minutes of gardening lessons per week.
Our staff will maintain the project over the summer with the harvest being sold at our weekly farm stand out of Mamquam School as well food will be donated to the Squamish Helping Hands Society.
Thank you to our Sponsors: Windsor Ply
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Thank you to our Funders
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Connecting to nature, creating food security, meeting new people, and getting involved with growing our own food.
To expand and encourage sustainable agriculture and food production in our region
The What, Why and Who within the Sea to Sky region.