In this issue of our BCAITC Teacher Champion series, we profile BC teacher Alithia Gillies. Discover her passion for educating students about BC agriculture, food, and the environment.

Q: What school do you teach? A: I am a teacher-librarian at my school and also cover PE prep & ADST prep for K-7.

Q: What grade(s) do you teach? A: I teach grades K-7.

Q: How and when did you first learn about BCAITC? A: I first learned about Spuds in Tubs and Planting a Promise programs from a coworker about seven years ago.

Q: How long have you been teaching students about BC agriculture and food? A: I’ve been teaching about agriculture and food for about five years.

Q: What are the most important things that you want your students to learn about BC agriculture and food? A: I want students to understand where their food comes from and how to take care of the Earth so it can continue providing us with food.

Q: BCAITC has over 500 free downloadable resources including lesson plans, activities, videos, recipes, and more! What is your favourite BCAITC resource and why? A: I love all BCAITC activities and lesson plans. They are helpful and easy to use.

Q: What is your favourite BCAITC program and why? A: Spuds in Tubs is my favourite program! Students get to grow and eat their own produce. Potatoes are also easy to grow and fun to harvest. 

Q: Describe an agriculture or food-based project/program you have implemented in your classroom/school recently. A: I was able to grow garlic for two years in a row with the Kindergarten students. It was tricky because you need to harvest the garlic before school starts in September, so it helps to have families who are able to support the garden through the summer. Garlic is an easy crop to grow, and the deer won’t eat it, so it is definitely worth a try!

Q: Do you have any advice for other educators on how to integrate agriculture and food education into their curriculum? A: Plant and life cycles are part of the K–7 curriculum, so growing food can be a great way to bring those concepts to life. If you have support from your PAC and principal, growing and harvesting spuds is a wonderful hands-on way for students to understand what goes into growing food.

And don’t forget to celebrate the harvest! It’s fun to have a harvest party and enjoy sharing your roasted potatoes together.

About the Teacher Champion Series: This monthly BCAITC series features BC teachers and school staff who are passionate about providing agriculture and food education to K-12 students. For more information, contact BCAITC Communications Coordinator, communications@aitc.ca.