Monday, September 26, 2011, Calgary, Alberta – A group of children sits at a picnic table beside a garden on a sunny afternoon. They’re laughing and dipping long stalks of freshly-picked rhubarb in a plate of sugar. One of the younger boys, maybe four years old, takes a bite of the tart fruit, puckers his chubby face and squeals with delight. “Oooh!” he says. “That makes my mouth whistle!”

What this boy doesn’t know, of course, is that he owes this experience to the legacy of another child who was about his age, a little boy named Jackson. In fact, many passers-by would not know this garden patch tucked against a sunny, south-facing corner of SAIT’s John Ware Building even had a name.

That changed this fall, however, with the laying of a stone just outside the garden fence inscribed with the name ‘Jackson Henry Henuset Memorial Garden’ and embossed with an image of Jackson’s face. The addition of this stone is the first attribution on the previously unlabeled garden.

It’s no accident that the namesake of this garden has remained somewhat anonymous. Until recently, his family simply wasn’t ready to talk publicly about Jackson or his tragic drowning in November of 2009, a few months before his third birthday.

Shortly after the accident, Jackson’s grandfather, Wayne Henuset, decided this garden would be a fitting memorial to his grandson. Henuset is a member of SAIT's Promising Futures™ Campaign Cabinet and the owner of Willow Park Wines and Spirits, a major player in the Alberta wine market. He had already been planning to sponsor the garden, which would be used as a classroom for SAIT’s culinary students.

Chef Andrew Hewson, an instructor in SAIT’s Professional Cooking program, spearheaded the garden project to connect culinary arts training with agriculture and sustainability issues. It’s a premise called Culinary Agro Literacy and it has had a surprising impact on Hewson’s students. “You can see it in their faces. They’re like children trying these flavours for the first time,” says Hewson.

An appreciation for the authenticity of ingredients is what initially drew Henuset to the project. “I’m in the wine business and I know that if you grow great grapes, you make great wine. The same is true for food. If you grow great ingredients, you can make great food.”

Originally, Henuset planned to call it Willow Park Garden, but after Jackson’s accident he knew only one name would be right. The garden would pay tribute to Jackson. “I did it so everyone would know he was here…” explains Henuset. “So everyone remembers that life is important.”

Most memorials are made of stone, but Henuset’s dedication to his grandson is organic. He says choosing to commemorate Jackson’s life with a garden seemed only natural and his explanation is simple.

“I guess I’m just a gardener at heart,” says Henuset.

SAIT Polytechnic is one of Canada’s most exciting destinations for post-secondary education, offering more than 100 career programs that position people for success in technology, trades and business. A leader in innovation, SAIT also collaborates with industry on applied research and delivers corporate training worldwide. SAIT is a member of Polytechnics Canada and one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers for 2011.

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