Foothills School Division wins provincial award for Vertical Farm Initiative

Foothills School Division is pleased to announce that the Vertical Farm Initiative (VFI) at Oilfields High School was awarded the 2023 School Board Innovation and Excellence Award at the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) Fall General Meeting. 

The School Board Innovation and Excellence Award is sponsored by Xerox Canada Ltd. and recognizes a school board for its role in launching innovative programs and initiatives that enhance student achievement. 

Foothills School Division Board Chair, Theresa Letendre, states, “The Foothills School Division Board of Trustees is thrilled to highlight and celebrate Oilfield High School’s Vertical Farm Initiative. The VFI is an excellent example of how innovative practices such as vertical farming, can bring together an entire community - education, subject matter experts, and businesses alike – behind a common goal around sustainability; not only focused on the environment but on the sustainability of rural communities themselves.”

The VFI is not just a school educational project—it is a community project. As there are no other vertical farms in the Diamond Valley area this project has attracted incredible attention. Support for this unique learning initiative has not only come from subject matter experts including Olds College of Agricultural & Technology and community members (with expertise in the areas of solar, automatic watering systems, cooling systems, biochar, and growing lights), but also from the larger community as well. Since August 2023, the local Diamond Valley grocery store has supported the initiative by re-selling the school’s microgreens and herbs. In addition to the grocery store, 3 local restaurants are purchasing herbs and microgreens from the VFI. Students have also been invited to participate in weekly Millarville Farmers’ Markets, selling their produce throughout the summer and into October 2023. 

L to R: Lisa Penzo, Theresa Letendre, and John Evans, with the School Board Innovation and Excellence Award at the ASBA Fall General Meeting, 2023.Through this project, students continue to be exposed to innovative growing techniques and are learning how they can become food producers within their community using sustainable growing methods that are not susceptible to the impacts of climate change. They are learning how heating and cooling, lighting, watering, and remote monitoring technologies can contribute to growing crops quicker while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Students are also learning about the business aspects of running a vertical farm, from managing the growing costs, acquiring customers, and ensuring supply can meet demand and marketing. They are learning how they can be part of the solution to ensuring a rural community has access to fresh, high-quality produce year-round and how a VFI reduces food waste over traditional growing methods, through reduced crop destruction by pests and avoiding the impact of long-distance transportation of produce to local stores. 

Congratulations Oilfields School and the Foothills School Division for this incredible recognition of excellence. 

For inquiries about this award or the VFI project, Sara Fox, Manager of Communications and Community Engagement at 403.652.6502.