The Conference recently received a donation to be used at Mamawi Atosketan Native School (MANS)  honouring the memory of the donor’s mother, Georgenna Ferguson. The gift, which was unrestricted in how it is to be used at MANS, will help the new Gardening program and students in the high school Gardening class develop more “roots” in the expanded garden pioneered by Grade 5 teacher Russ Nielsen as a personal project to cultivate student interest in gardening.

High school teacher Kim Herrington created the Gardening class last year, which was met with a lot of enthusiasm from students. It also yielded tremendous bounty that contributed significantly to the MANS feeding program, including 90 quarts of tomato sauce. (Read more on that story here.)

“I am very excited about the new donation,” says Herrington. “First, [a new] rototiller will be an amazing contribution as we continue to expand our garden.” Other possible uses of the funds include nutrients and fertilizer for an enlarged garden; raised beds or development of a border to beautify the garden; and possibly summer wages for a student to help with the weeding and other garden-related work.