According to Director General Martin Riopel, the Pontiac Educational Garden aims to help students who have trouble in school and at home build healthy habits and coping mechanisms.

Students in the summer camp spend their mornings, Monday through Wednesday, working in the garden. They are payed for their work, but may be docked pay if they do not comply with the rules, or with the healthy habits promoted by the organization. Riopel noted that pay may be docked if they were caught smoking, playing on their phones, swearing, using bad manners or having a poor attitude towards their work. This system is used to instill a good work ethic in students that Riopel hopes will help them reintegrate back into their schools.

The afternoons are spent doing many activities. This summer’s activities included presentations from local experts on a variety of topics, ranging from the importance of bees in ecosystems to healthy relationships.

On Thursdays, students had the opportunity to go on large group outings such as swimming at Leslie Lake, Zip Lining and even take a trip to La Ronde in Montreal.

For the past six years, with the exception of 2020, the end of the camp season has been accompanied with a barbecue where students are able to show what they’ve accomplished over their seven weeks of working in the garden, and raise funds for the Pontiac Educational Garden’s various projects. Riopel said that the barbecue gives the kids a chance to show their family and their friends the hard work they’ve done in the garden.

The garden has received grants and funding which allows them to have larger quantities of food. This allows the garden to donate more fresh vegetables and fruit to Bouffe Pontiac.

The garden kiosk is open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on site on Hwy. 148 between Campbell’s Bay and Litchfield. More information about the Pontiac Educational Garden is available on their Facebook page.

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