LaSalle S.S. Inclusive Garden Project

La Salle S.S. Inclusive Garden Project
Posted on 12/28/2018
La Salle Secondary School has an organic garden so students and teachers could learn how to grow food and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Students with mobility issues found it difficult or impossible to get to a garden bed and participate in the planting and care of the garden. That's when students of La Salle's Senior Construction Technology Class decided to design and build a garden that would allow access for all students.

Students consulted their peers, who expressed a desire to have a garden that included a pumpkin patch. One issue that was brought forward through the consultation was the difficulty wheelchair users were having reaching into the garden to plant. The garden needed to have a portion that would allow someone in a wheelchair to pull up to it as if it were a work table.

With these needs in mind, students decided that the garden should have paving stones up to and around it. They also invented a bridge garden – a long bed spanning between two raised beds. 

One group of students measured the area of the garden to be used and generated a list of materials needed to create the paving stone walkway and surround. Once the area was cleared, a layer of stone dust had to be spread, packed and graded so that the paving stones would be at the same level as the sidewalk. Finally, the paving stones were carefully installed. 

Another group of students explored options for the construction of the beds and how to support the weight of the soil in the bridge garden. A design was agreed upon, blueprints were drawn, and a material list was created. Communication was key as different teams built the separate components of the garden. Accurate measurement and cutting was needed if it would all fit together at the end - and it did!

The students of La Salle’s Senior Construction Class are very proud of the work they did to foster inclusiveness
 within the school community. They created a beautiful centerpiece for the organic garden, and now everyone can grow together.