The little planter in the yard of the Bowen Island Montessori School (BIMS) attracts a lot of attention this spring morning and the children gather around to take stock of the blossoms and the leaves. One of them spots an earth worm near the path and it is quickly transferred to the more hospitable habitat of the soil.
Helen Davenport, BIMS' administrator and teacher, takes the children outside every day unless it's raining hard. In the fall, she explains the life cycle of a plant. She distributes seeds and bulbs for the preschoolers to plant. In spring, the children eagerly watch for first signs of green and then, the blossoms. "There is always great excitement watching the plants grow," Davenport says. "You should have seen Isaac's face when he discovered the blossoms on the tree last week." When the blooming period is over, Davenport and the children pull out the bulbs and hang them to dry during the summer. Then they put them in a brown paper bag and wait for fall to start all over again.
"We could put in another plot but our small space doesn't meet the needs of some of the children," Davenport says. "That's why we are looking to expand. There are a few places where community plots are available and we wanted to see if there is any interest in making a space available to the Montessori school and our families."
Davenport counts herself lucky to share the sense of wonder with the children. "I get to experience it every day. Children have such great drive and inquisitiveness. I see them starting to count, learn about the continent and starting to read. Wouldn't it be great if parents could share their children's enthusiasm for nature?"
Because the school is not in session in the summer, the children miss a part of the growing period. "If the garden is more of a community effort, the children could stay involved," Davenport said, adding that they have planted beans, sweet peas and nasturtiums. Pumpkin seeds were greeted with great enthusiasm but since pumpkins need lots of space, Davenport plans to plant a lot of them and, when they come up, just focus on one. "We still have the sunflowers to do," she says. "Last year, we scattered seeds for a garden for the butterflies. That was lovely."
There are currently 24 preschoolers enrolled in BIMS and transporting them regularly to a garden plot would require some organization, that's why Davenport wants the families to be involved. "We would start the seedlings here and then ask the parents and children to keep the momentum going," she said. "They would take on part of the responsibility. We have a large community of gardeners on the island, maybe someone would like to mentor us and guide our children, parents and teachers?"
Davenport knows from experience that the interest is there. She doesn't often come to Bowen in the summer and a small group of parents (she calls them the watering fairies) looks after the planter and trees. "I'm always greeted by a healthy little garden, maybe this year, I will be greeted by a pumpkin," Davenport says. "If we find a plot and we have people who are happy to go with it, we could harvest carrots and take part in BowFeast. Who knows where this sense of fun and wonder could take us?"
This initiative goes hand in hand with the Montessori philosophy that, according to Davenport, places a huge emphasis on being respectful to ourselves and others, to the community and the world at large. "All this can happen with three, four and five-year-olds," Davenport says. "I am always amazed by the wonder the children bring and I think we miss some of that in our busy lives. I get to witness it everyday and want to invite the families to share that."
