Groundhogs in the Pumpkin Patch

Primary students enjoyed an exciting visit with a representative from Critter Control this past week. He came to remove a groundhog from the garden and set another trap for the remaining groundhogs. He gave a brief presentation to the kids who wanted to see the groundhog that has been eating their pumpkins!

Groundhog, also known as woodchuck, whistle-pig or land-beaver.

There is still hope for the 2 pumpkins that have not yet been eaten by critters. We are working on making the garden animal proof, so that the groundhogs can live freely on the other side of the fence (not eating our produce!).

Two Primary families (Duke/Kozora and Tamblyn) recently installed a wonderful gate for the pumpkin patch made from re-purposed materials. A new fence surrounds the pumpkin patch, but the groundhogs continue to dig under the fence.

Ryan Tamblyn (father of 3rd grader Karter) and his friend Johnny
installing the new garden gate.

The fence needs to be dug down and then secured by something heavy, such as railroad ties or pavers. For now we will continue to work on little sections at a time, but we are in search of adult volunteers to help work on the fence after school one day while the kids play on the playground.

If you are interested in helping us animal-proof the pumpking patch, please send us an email at aalcgeo@gmail.com. You are also welcome to adopt the pumpkin patch to maintain throughout the school year, as a family or small group! Learn more about our new Adopt-a-Garden program here.