Gardener’s toolbox
Let these 10 easy steps guide you in planting a beautiful camp garden.
| Target: | Counselors, Managers |
| Time frame: | Any |
| Members: | Everyone |
| Type of tool: | Planification |
| Ages: | 5-6 years, 7-8 years, 9-12 years, 13 and Over |
| Group size: | Whole camp |
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Healthy eating
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Description
Do you or one of the camp counselors want to introduce a successful garden at camp? Do you need some tips to improve the camp garden? This toolbox is exactly what you need. It is essential for guiding you through the different steps to set up a successful garden that will enhance your summer. If needed, don’t forget that the Power Up team is there to help you! Don’t hesitate to contact us.
This toolbox is made of 10 sections: from the construction of the garden to the tasting of its plants, you will find, among other things an explanation of how to choose the type of garden you want, a schedule for planting and harvesting, the use of compost, and tasks to remember throughout the summer. You can also learn how to incorporate beneficial insects into the garden and how to keep some animals away.
For the counselors, there are tips for leading activities in the garden and for having the campers do some tasks in the garden. There are also some original recipes for cooking with plants from the garden.
Special thanks to Ferme Marichel’s camp and Cap-St-Ignace city for proofreading the content of this document.
Special thanks to Montreal’s botanical garden, Food for all NB, “Jardins écoumène” for proofreading the content of this document.
Goal(s)
This toolbox helps the manager and the counselor’s team to set up a garden at the camp with the goal of integrating the campers into the different tasks and activities.
Tips and tricks
Don’t hesitate to involve different person in carrying out the tasks of the garden (campers, parents, community organizations).
Leave this guide out so the counselor’s team can read it when they want. You can also give them a brief class about gardening before the beginning of summer. Don’t forget that some may have never gardened before. With this guide, you will be able to support them all summer long.
Required material
The list of materials may vary depending on the size of the garden, whether it is a collective or community garden, and the number of people working in the garden at the same time. Refer to the PDF for all the details.
- Bags of soil
- Compost of your choice
- Seeds of your choice (View the factsheet entitled What we can grow…and eat! for inspiration.)
- Shovels and garden hoses (Optional)
- Landscape fabric (Available in garden center)
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Let’s have a chat!
Here are subjects to discuss with your camp counselors before and after the activity.
- Are you aware of the different tasks to be done in the garden?
- Which ones do you think the campers will appreciate the most?
- Which plants would you like to grow in the garden?
- Do you have ideas of activities to do in the garden with the campers?
