Mississauga Grade 7 Class Cultivates Award-Winning Pollinator Garden

James Vidot and his Grade 7 class at St. Gerard Catholic Elementary School in Mississauga received a $500 grant from Learning for a Sustainable Future, one of several hundred grants awarded to schools as part of the Our Canada project. 

They worked hard all spring to transform the front of their elementary school into an award-winning native pollinator garden.

Spark

To kick-start the project, the class watched the classic documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Students said it created a sense of urgency, that they needed to take action “not someday, but today.” Afterwards, everyone calculated their household’s ecological footprint. 

Garden Planning

In groups, students researched native plant species and pollinators and analysed the site examining sunlight, soil type, water access and species interdependence. They mapped out their garden allotments and put together a shopping list for their teacher.

Planting

Inside the classroom, they raised butterfly milkweed seedlings and carefully tracked growth before transplanting outdoors. Armed with shovels, they dug up the front grass and amended the soil with triple-mix. Their teacher sourced local native seedlings - the bulk of which were purchased from Blooming Boulevard’s spring plant sale. 

Some mini projects included:

• Recycling plastic water bottles into low-cost drip irrigation

• Composting lunch leftovers using in-ground vermiculture made from a thrifted pasta strainer.

Finalists

For all their hard work, the class was awarded runner up for Empower Youth for Climate Action 2026.