Growing up at Richmond High! If you haven't been to Richmond Secondary this past summer, you may want to stop in and visit the flourishing food garden. Wheat, Amaranth, Scarlet Runner beans, and Sunflowers now tower over the garden beds. A tool shed, composters and greenhouse frame have also been added.  Over the past months, residents from Minoru Seniors Centre, teachers from Richmond High, and garden coordinator/chef Ian Lai, have been busy tending the plots within the expanded school/community food garden. In the spring 2008, staff members, Mavis Anthony, Lynn Forrest, Dita Verma, Gloria Eden, Matthew Johnson and others, with assistance from enthusiastic students, initiated the first phase of the food garden. With the help of Terra Nova Schoolyard Society and the Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program, students were able to gain hands-on experience and learn valuable life skills while at the same time, support the Culinary Arts, Fit for Life and English programs, to mention just a few. As a result of this initial success, it was decided that the school food garden held terrific potential to serve the surrounding neighbourhood and as such, was a good candidate as a community garden as well. In this pilot program, with the assistance of volunteers and seniors supporting the green thumb talents of Ian Lai, the garden doubled in size.  Evergreen hopes to continue working on the garden through next year's growing season. Evergreen Learning Grounds Associate Dolores Altin has high hopes; We would like to see this garden become well integrated within the neighbourhood. This mixed model should make the garden more sustainable and accessible to students and nearby residents over the summerî. By inviting community residents to take on garden plots, and seniors and student volunteers to help with the watering and weeding, the garden will be better attended and maintained, with fewer incidents of vandalism overall. Eventually, the plan is for leadership students to coordinate community volunteers and students over the summer months. Daycare children are also invited to participate. With generous funding from community organizations such as G&F Financial, Union of  BC Municipalities, Richmond Youth Foundation, The Hamber Foundation, Vancity and Walmart, Evergreen has been able to test this new model for community-based food gardens that can serve both a neighbourhood along with local school programs. A harvest celebration is being planned for Richmond High in October. Check out the garden blog at: http://richmondsecondaryschoolgarden.blogspot.com/ The garden is located at the rear of the school, nestled between the Daycare and the school building on Moffat Street.  Check out more photos below.