The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

14 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 4, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Pre-school gardeners By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF DEREK WOOLLAM / OAKVILLE BEAVER YOUNG GARDENERS: Owners Karen Chaplin, left, and Alijia Podgorska of Forest Grove School had a plant ceremony and dedication Monday afternoon to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Oakville. It's not just children growing these days at Forest Grove Studio of Advanced Arts and Technology. A new garden was christened behind Unit 11 at 3420 Rebecca St. where children aged two-and-a-half to 12 years have been participating for two years in pre-school and before and after school programs. After some deep-rooted planning and lots of elbow grease for the past month, the garden was officially opened last week. The event saw Royal Conservatory cellists Karl and Roxalana Toewes perform for the guest before an official ribbon-cutting ceremony that included an invitation to Mayor Rob Burton. Nearby business Sweet Smoke provided appetizers for the event. Forest Grove's school-aged children did fundraising like bottle drives and a collection of Canadian Tire money before they made a field trip to the Canadian Tire at Kerr Street to pick up the garden supplies needed for the job. Canadian Tire also pitched in a huge donation of topsoil to help the garden grow. National Homes, which is buiding housing near the school, provided the labour to cultivate the garden and even lay sidewalk stone. Parents donated topsoil and cuttings from their own gardens. According to the school's program supervisor Judy Carter, the idea for the garden began with Earth Day, but took on a life of its own so to speak and was continued as a symbol of Oakville's 150th anniversary, too. It met a need, too, as it beautifies the school's playground and has seen students learn about community involvement from residents and businesses to politicians. While Mayor Burton was unable to attend the event at the last minute, the students did follow up by delivering gifts they had intended to present to him at the ceremony to his office at Town Hall Thursday. About 60 students attend Forest Grove, which is the second location opened by Karen Chaplin and Alicja Podgorska. The first location is in West Oak Trails and has been operating since 1999.