The ground may be covered in snow, but organizers of the annual Marigolds Project in Saint John are already looking ahead to the 2020 edition this summer.
It will be the 23rd year for the project.
Last year about 200,000 brightly-coloured flowers were planted at 67 sites around the city by students at 70 area schools.
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Barry Ogden, founder of the Marigolds Project, said he’s looking for sponsors to help pay for seeds, soil and trays so students can plant the seeds in a few weeks.
“They take control of it,” he said. “They’ve studied the math, germination rates. They study photosynthesis. They do poetry with it. They’ve written music about it. So, it’s what we call ‘cross-curriculum. It becomes…the marigold becomes the central theme in their learning.”
The plants will grow in classrooms until they are transplanted along Main Street and in other locations in June.
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Ogden said the project includes planting some spruce trees and painting murals, although he admits there will be fewer murals created this year.
The Marigolds Project has set Guinness World Records six years in a row for the number of students planting flowers at the same time, and Ogden believes another record will be set this year.
“We’ve never had anything vandalized because the kids own it,” Ogden said. “They’re outside getting exercise and not sitting at a desk. So it’s a really good way to learn.”
The project has become a popular attraction for tourists, Ogden said. It has also been copied in British Columbia, New York and Europe.