Richard McBride Elementary is holding a garden sale to help grow its playgrounds.
Community members are invited to attend a garden party and fundraising sale on Sunday, May 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Richard McBride Elementary School, 331 Richmond St. The parent advisory council will be selling plants, seeds, veggie starts and an assortment of garden items.
“We are hoping to make this an annual event,” said plant sale coordinator Jen Arbo. “We are not looking to raise a ton of money, obviously, it’s our first time offering this. But we do want to raise awareness and get people excited about gardening. Even if they live in a condo, there are ways to garden. As a school, we are really proud of our garden and we are really proud of our kids being active outdoor kids. It is a good opportunity for us to step it up. Plus, it’s a week before Mother’s Day, so there’s an opportunity for flowers and what not.”
The event includes face painting from The Stage New Westminster, the chance to win raffle baskets full of goodies. People will also be able to taste and purchase herb vinegars from The Vinegar Works, do electronics recycling with the Free Geek, check out the Royal City Farmers Market information table and seed sale, and enjoy some “chicken fun” with Urban Digs Farms’ hens.
Ross Arbo, a certified horticultural technician, will be fielding gardening questions, helping people identify plants and offering recommendations about what they can grow in the garden, whether it’s in a yard or on a patio.
“He has sort of taken on and become the garden coordinator,” Arbo said. “We have a small learning garden in front of our school. It’s got some food items, like blueberries and whatnot, but it’s also got plants and bulbs, as well as a compost that we try and keep going. Right now the kindergarten students have big, huge tubs where they have planted potatoes.”
The PAC is hoping to raise funds to put towards present and future playgrounds at Richard McBride Elementary.
“We are learning from what happened with Qayqayt. We are making preparations for some longer term plans,” Arbo said. “We know that our school is on the list to be seismically upgraded and we want to make sure the level of playground that we currently have at our school can continue even when they rebuild or renovate our school.”
Because Qayqayt Elementary was a “replacement school” for John Robson Elementary, the project didn’t include any funds for a playground.
McBride parents are also hoping to raise money to expand the offerings in a large play space known as the “wood chip” area.
Anyone in New West who has potted perennials and annuals plants they would like to donate to the sale can email [email protected]. The PAC will arrange for a drop-off or pickup by a volunteer
