Principal - Mr. D. Morrison

Mr. Morrison started at my elementary school when I was in grade one. Once a week he hosted a garden club in the school library, and when I got to grade four I was able to join.  It was also the year our school council agreed to help raise the money needed to start a school garden. 

Over the years, under Mr. Morrison leadership the garden club not only maintained the garden in front of the school, we were able to plant a dozen trees along the back yard fence as well as a bunch of dogwood shrubs. We also started the schools first compost for lunch scraps. 

Eventually he even started a hiking club on weekends. We had to have a parent with us to go because this wasn't a school trip. We planned the trips in our garden club. We choose the place we would go, and met there on the day. 

As we walked he would point out different plants and get us to identify them from what we talked about in garden club. 

My photo

When my family moved into a house that had a garden, I was thrilled. I spent hours out there weeding and watering. I planted vegetables in the backyard and lots of flowers along the driveway and front of the house.  

In the spring of grade six Mr. Morrison left and we got a new principal. All we were told at the time was that he was sick and would be returning when he felt better. 

Without  him, the garden club ended. Four of us couldn't stand that the garden, we had taken such care of was becoming overgrown, so we found a teacher who agreed to come out and sit with us while we cleaned it up once a week. 

My photo

The following year, the four of us, the last remaining of the garden club were called to the library. I remember the excitement I felt thinking he was coming back. 

Mrs. Morrison was sitting at the table waiting for us. In 1993 Mr. Morrison passed after a hard fought battle with cancer. We sat there crying as she told us how proud he was that we kept up the garden.

The school held a massive fundraiser and was able to purchase this beautiful tree. The nursery we bought it from, agreed to donate their time and the equipment needed to plant such a large tree.

It stood in front of our school for many years. You can not only see the tree, but our garden to the left of the photo. 

They are both gone now. A renovation of the front entrance of our school was done and they were both removed to make room. The memorial stone and some of the shrubs were moved next to the flagpole at the insistence of myself and another member of the former garden club. We had to  petition the current parent counsel with the help of a retired staff member who also remembered him and the impact he made on so many students who loved the outdoors. 

My photo

I work at the school now and we still have little garden out front. We have a beautiful naturalization area behind the school where our students can run through trees. It's my favorite part of our school.​