Pedagogy

What does it mean to learn about place through a lens of human expression? And how does working with nature affect us in our day to day lives? Humans have been struggling with their existence on this earth for hundreds of thousands of years and through gardening we can learn more about how this existence has helped and hindered us throughout the ages. We are incredibly connected to edible plants, even in our industrial models. Ecological limitations of plant species help us understand where certain plants prosper, and where they don’t. However, humans have been intervening in where plants live, and how they develop for thousands of years. Consider the potato that is part of this veggie burger and fries. Potatoes originated in the South American Andes, and have become a cultivated staple crop across Africa, United Kingdom, Europe, and North America (Kiple & Ornelas, 2000).

How complex is the history of the potato and how does this relate to human movement around the planet? We know that the monocultural crops (single species plantings) of Ireland were completely wiped out due to a potato blight. This caused more than a million Irish to die or emigrate to other countries in search of food. What else has the potato been involved in?

Pedagogy Question: Can plants be considered pivotal historical characters? How might the History of North America look if the potato didn’t exist?

The mindful potato (you need to eat potatoes for this one!)

Prepare potatoes for yourself in your favourite way. Of course, because this project revolves around fries, my favourite potato recipe is below. If you are doing this with your class, this could be fun homework. You could ask your students to do this activity with their favourite fries. Once you are ready to eat, take a moment to breath. Breath in the smell of your food. Consider where your potato came from? Is it grown locally? PEI? The United States? Who planted that potato? Where did they get that seed potato from? Did that potato relate to any long-ago potato that your ancestor ate?

After you have done your yummy potatoes. Research and draw your “potato family tree.” Try to find evidence of a potato connection, and if you can’t find evidence, imagine their connection to a potato. Go back at least five generations.

Activity Questions: Where are your ancestors from? Were they indigenous to North America and harvested camas-root “potatoes”? Were they South American and revered sweet potatoes as spiritual food? Were they Irish and forced to flee their home in search of food during the Potato famine? Do you have any ancestors who farmed the land themselves as subsistence farmers?