- Stories from the Ground
Growing School Gardens
As Nova Scotia’s gardening season swings into full-on grow mode, the deadline for applying to the 2025 Grow Eat Learn’s Infrastructure Grant Program has come to a close. And with over 50 schools across the province having applied for funding, there is a lot to celebrate and to be inspired by.
But starting and maintaining a school garden is a lot of work! Often, this effort falls heavily on the shoulders of teachers and school staff who are already stretched in their capacity to meet student needs. The 2025 Grow Eat Learn Garden Infrastructure Grants, which were made possible thanks to the Government of Nova Scotia, sought to remedy some of these challenges by offering grants with a focus on core garden infrastructure and plenty of resources to support schools.
Through the grant program, we promoted core infrastructure like Garden Beds, Cold-frames, Compost Systems and Water Catchment & Storage. Additionally, schools could apply for funding for a Fruit Tree Guild, Hydroponics, General Garden Infrastructure, Pollinator Tea Garden Kit and a Classroom Seed Starting Kit. To help schools navigate how to best develop their school garden, we created a Garden Infrastructure Design Library, featuring a collection of recommendations and free online garden designs. Check out this new resource here.
In the design library (on page 7), you will find our brand new compost design, a Two-pallet Compost Bin. After hearing concerns from schools about the rodent risks of a compost system, we got to work on a solution with Wes Johnson, Forest Operations Coordinator at the Ne’ata’q Food Forest at the Bluenose Academy (SSRCE). This new open-source design is for a 1-bin compost box made from 2-pallets with rodent resistance in mind. Check out the design here to see if it may be the right infrastructure upgrade for your school or community garden.
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