Students Turn Empty Rooftop into Community Garden
HARLOW BAY — A roof that sat empty for twenty years is now covered in tomato plants, herbs and sunflowers, thanks to a group of Grade 10 students at Pinecrest Secondary School.
The project began last fall when student Amira Khan noticed that the school cafeteria bought most of its vegetables from suppliers hundreds of kilometres away. “We have all this space right above our heads,” she said. “It seemed strange not to use it.”
Khan and five classmates spent the winter planning. They measured the roof, researched which plants grow well in containers, and presented their idea to the principal, Daniel Osei. Osei agreed on one condition: an engineer had to confirm that the roof could hold the weight of the soil and water.
The engineer’s report came back in March. The roof could support the garden, but only if the containers were spread out rather than grouped in one corner. The students redesigned their plan using forty small planters instead of ten large ones.
By June, the garden had produced more than 200 kilograms of vegetables. Some went to the cafeteria, and the rest were donated to a local food bank. “People think gardening is just watering plants,” said Grade 10 student Lucas Tremblay. “Most of it is solving problems you didn’t expect.”
The school plans to expand the garden next year and add a rain-collection system so the plants can be watered without using city water. Osei says other schools have already called to ask how the project worked.
“I thought the hardest part would be growing the vegetables,” Khan said. “It turned out the hardest part was convincing everyone it was possible.”
