Safe Environments (Child Care Manual)

Children love to explore through play. Creating a safe and healthy indoor and outdoor environment facilitates play areas conducive to learning while minimizing health risks.

Gardening at child care centres

Choosing a location

Choosing the right location for your garden is very important. To prevent contamination of soil and produce, avoid building a garden near:

Waste storage areas
Areas prone to flooding
Septic systems
Parking lots

Building the garden

If you decide to build a raised garden, make sure to use safe materials. You can contaminate the soil if you use chemically treated materials, such as pressure-treated lumber and railway ties.

Planting

Once you pick the right location and are ready to plant, follow these tips for a safe, healthy garden:

Start with clean soil
If you decide to use fertilizer, use only store bought fertilizer and follow the manufacturer’s instructions
Wash your hands properly after gardening
Change and wash your clothes if they become dirty. This prevents contaminating other areas.
Avoid using raw manure and compost

Keeping pests away

Pests, such as rabbits, deer and rodents, can impact the health and productivity of your garden.

Maintain the area surrounding your garden
Remove rotting fruits and vegetables
Pull weeds by hand to keep the garden weed free
Do not use pesticides.

Watering fruits and vegetables

Use safe, potable (drinkable) water only
Avoid using water collected by a rain barrel when watering fruits and vegetables

Preventing cross-contamination

Wash hands before and after picking produce
Brush, shake or rub off soil and debris before storing produce in harvest containers
Choose harvest containers that are smooth, readily cleanable and non-absorbent
Regularly clean containers thoroughly

Storing and preparing garden produce

Wash and prepare the fruits and vegetables in the kitchen on a thoroughly cleaned work surface
Clean hands and utensils thoroughly before they come into contact with the produce
Store separately produce from the garden and store-bought produce
Always wash fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking with them

Last updated: Oct. 5, 2022