Hippo School's experience in the garden

Children watering in the Noojimo'iwewin Gitigaan Garden.

August 7, 2026

Visiting Noojimo'iwewin Gitigaan and learning from the knowledgeable group of garden

stewards and volunteers has been a wonderful experience for our toddler and preschool

children at Hippo Nursery School.

Young children learn from concrete experiences through their senses and land-based

learning is a crucial way that children come to understand their place in the world. Our

children do not just learn about nature—they learn from the land as their teacher through

deeply meaningful, hands-on experiences.

Through the seasons, children and families learn through their interactions with

Noojimo'iwewin Gitigaan. In late winter our journey of learning starts with experiencing the

tapping of the Maple trees, observing the sap dripping from the trees that eventually is

transformed into maple syrup. In the spring and summer, we learn about the importance

of pollinators such as bees and butterflies. This knowledge is strengthened as we observe

the changes in the butterfly garden that we walk past every day on our way to our

playground.

Children have participated in planting and caring for the wheat seeds in the

cereal garden and have helped with growing, harvesting and eating potatoes, connecting

them to the cycles of sustenance. Through the Water Protectors program, our children

have begun to understand they have a role in protecting this important resource for

humans and the earth.

Learning the traditional Indigenous agricultural wisdom of the how

the Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash) help each other grow is extended into

lessons of community, cooperation and mutual support during play time.

By grounding our children in Indigenous knowledge and traditional ways of caring for the

earth, we are hopeful that these experiences will help children grow to be resilient,

empathetic, and environmentally conscious adults. We are deeply grateful for this vital

partnership.

— Joanna Gillespie, Supervisor, Hippo Nursery School