Kids to Kids Project Connecting Kids in India and the Comox Valley

Local photographer and community builder Sarah Kerr is working with school age students in Assam, India,.  Along with teaching them photography, Sarah and the kids are working together on environmental and sustainable gardening projects.

With the Kids to Kids Project, Sarah would love to twin with Comox Valley students--and hopefully Puntledge ones!--to share their gardening and environmental projects through photographs, letters and other creative mediums to get to know one another and learn from each other.  Ideas are in the works!

Here is a bit about what Sarah and the Assamese students are doing, from her blog "Cameras, Chai and Spices."

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Overveiw of the Kids to Kids as I see it now.

The Kids to Kids project is working toward bring kids in Assam and kids in Comox Valley into a friendship.  This will be achieved through sharing stories and photos about their lives and their practices in environmentalism.  The need for education about how we can help our environment and how to grow our own food healthily is a universal issue and this along with sharing culture is a great connection to be made between the two communities. 

I have started teaching in Jorhat, Assam now and plan to go to 4 or 5 schools, most being classes 9/10 but also some younger too.  The kids are eager to learn about the camera and how to use it, most have not used a camera before and so this is a fun experience for them.  They are very coures about the other children that they will be connecting with.  Most of the children are very shy, but in the schools were English is the main language the questions are coming.  The schools are located out side of the town so they seem similar to Mervile or really to Arden rd area.  We will be going out to some schools that are much more rural and are really interesting. 

The program that I am asking the kids to do is to create a few collages that can be bought back to Canada.  We are doing three classes with each group, first is just understanding how to use the camera, simple things like how to turn it on and use the shutter are more challenging then expected do to translation and most children have never used a camera before.  The second day we are learning more about how to do some creative things and how to keep the photo looking good, this day we go around the school and show what it looks like and the plants and animals that are around. 
The third day is a field day were we all go to one village near by the school were some of the children live and take photos of their homes, families gardens and cultural things.  At this village we will also be planting a tree for each of the children, were these children are responsible for keeping that tree growing, so we will have images of this activity too.  

For more about Kids to Kids, see the full story here.

The Garden Wants You To Get Your Hands Dirty!

 

We held the first official school garden meeting last week in the courtyard to plan for the most excellent growing season yet!  But we can't do it without all of you, Puntledge staff, students, friends and families.

We already have a committed core of parent volunteers, but the more hands on deck, the better our garden can be!

What We Need

• You!
• Ideas
• Seeds and plants (vegetables, strawberry plants, flowers, perennials???)
• Compost and other organic soil amendments
• Mason bee homes
• People committed to helping water the garden over the summer on a rotating schedule so we can GROW MORE THINGS SUCCESSFULLY!  If we have enough volunteers, you might only have to come in once over the summer break!

What We Can Start Growing Right Now  

We can start early spring vegetables, such as radish, spinach, some salad greens, and even peas!  It has been my experience that if we start plants indoors instead of directly seeding them into the garden, the children see things growing and usually make efforts to not to step on them.  If things are directly seeded, the children may not be aware that something green is starting to peak above the surface and squash them unknowingly.  It is the students' garden after all!

Are you a keen gardener currently starting tomatoes or peppers?  Could you save a plant or two for the school garden?

Thanks a bunch and let's get growing!  The season is upon us, woo-hoo!

Next Garden Meeting: Tuesday, February 22 in the courtyard (weather dependent) 1:30 until bell.