A unique learning space at Eaton School is about to reach a much wider audience after being selected for a documentary series exploring remarkable gardens across Saskatchewan.
Filming took place at the school on Aug. 18 and 19 as a production crew captured the story of the school's outdoor classroom and garden. The series follows host Ashley Essekin, a soil scientist and YouTuber, as she visits hidden and unexpected gardens throughout the province. Adrian Halter, the documentary's producer, said Eaton School was exactly the type of location he had been searching for.
"I was really hoping to find a rural community garden that had a school involved," Halter said. "I started my research back in May and I didn't have any success finding any place."
After expanding his search across Saskatchewan, Halter came across an article about Eaton School and immediately knew he had found the right story.
"It was the exact kind of place that I was hoping to find," he said, citing the school's commitment to outdoor education and teaching students how to grow, maintain and harvest food.
For students and staff, the documentary is an opportunity to showcase a project that has taken years of work to create.
The garden and outdoor classroom were developed to provide hands-on learning opportunities beyond a traditional classroom setting. Students from Grades 5 to 9 have helped build garden beds, seating areas and a teepee while learning about gardening, sustainability and food production. The space also includes Saskatchewan native plants and continues to evolve through new initiatives, including plans for a knowledge path featuring QR codes that teach visitors about local plant species.
The garden's story is also one of resilience.
Last year, the outdoor classroom suffered significant vandalism. The teepee, water fountain, irrigation system and plants grown by students were destroyed. Rather than abandoning the project, students, staff and community volunteers came together to rebuild.
"I think the beauty of it is that the community comes together and focuses on the positive and restarts," said Nichole Bredy. "I'm very thankful to Jennifer Bews and Kirsten Theaker and the students in Eatonia that rebuilt it this year. I'm just so, so proud to be a Spartan."
Bredy believes the documentary will help recognize the dedication that has gone into creating and maintaining the space.
"I'm excited for the students' hard work to be recognized in the school," she said. "They are what makes this space come alive."
Students played an important role during filming, sharing their experiences and demonstrating how they use the garden and outdoor classroom. From planting and harvesting crops to maintaining the grounds, they showed firsthand how the project has become an important part of school life.
For producer Halter, the story represents much more than gardening.
The series aims to highlight the connections between people, food and the land, and Eaton School's project provided a powerful example of all three. Through the documentary, audiences across Saskatchewan will see how a small rural school transformed an idea into a thriving community space where students learn by doing and where a garden grows much more than vegetables.
For more information
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