FH Collins Secondary School, Whitehorse YT
Grant term, 2023-2024
F.H. Collins Senior Secondary School, located in Whitehorse, is the largest secondary school in Yukon Territory. This is a diverse school; students from all over the Territory attend F.H. Collins, including Old Crow, Mayo, Watson Lake, and along the Alaska Highway. The 1890’s Gold Rush and the 1940’s Alaska Highway played a big part in the history of the Yukon. As well as the original caretakers of the land, the Gwitchen, Kwanlin Dun First Nations, and the Ta’an Kwach’an Council.
Whitehorse, Yukon, is in the southern part of the Territory and is surrounded by beautiful mountains, the Yukon River, and wildlife. As a northern city resting at latitude 62 degrees north (the same as Anchorage Alaska), and 651 km to the Arctic Circle, there are two modes of travel in and out of the Territory during the summer: by plane or vehicle, and in the winter, it is by plane. F.H. Collins is a school of 743 students, and this is where the Yukon Seed Grant Indoor Garden comes into play.
The Yukon Territory is run by the federal government; therefore, receiving goods can take time. We had a long wait for our Click & Grow package, which includes three Click & Grow kits and a three-tier plant stand for the kits to rest on. We received the package on the 28th of April, the kits were assembled, and the seed pods were in on the 29th.
With four classes per day, I teach five classes of food studies at F.H. Collins. My Foods 9/10 classes are scheduled every school day, with my Foods 8 classes alternating during the week. With a total of 59 students in all my classes, the Foods 9/10 were anxious to unbox and reveal the Click & Grow kits. Students selected what they wanted to grow from the seed pods. Students documented each week, measured the plants, and wrote this in a journal. This season, we planted lettuce, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, curly parsley, and basil.
One week before the end of classes for the school year, students created food to share with their class and friends, with ingredients for the various meals purchased from the local store. The plants were not ready to harvest at that time from the Click & Grow kits. This did not deter students from making a wonderful chicken torta with Pico de Gallo. During the last week of classes, students created Asian chicken lettuce wraps using the lettuce leaves from the Click & Grow Garden!
This summer, I will bring the herbs home to grow to maturity. In the fall, I will demonstrate how to dry herbs from mature plants and create various dishes while the class is growing new herbs, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce from the Click & Grow garden kit.
Next year, students will start their seed pods the first week of class. This will provide additional food for the students and an opportunity to create a recipe book as a class assignment. In September, we will be planting cherry tomatoes, peppers, basil, and lettuce, which we will harvest by December 2024. Students are to create a dish using these harvested plants to serve in class and with friends at school. We will visit several local farms to see how they grow their gardens as well as view the laying hens and farm animals.
I’m looking forward to the journey with the indoor garden over the next few years to provide opportunities to open my food classes to farm visitation, growing food in the Yukon, and a class indoor garden. I believe students will benefit from this experience and, hopefully, start their own indoor garden.
Thank you, Seed Grant, for making it possible to bring an indoor garden into my foods room for students to learn, use, and enjoy!
