CAMPBELL RIVER SCHOOL DISTRICT
"Wild" Willow Point Elementary moving from gravel to green

For students at École Willow Point Elementary the sign of a good day of learning should mean getting their hands dirty. Their teachers, with the encouragement of Principal Louise Guevremont, have long embraced the merits of educating outside, and have spent the last three years, dreaming, planning, and now planting to improve the school's outdoor learning environment.

With support of a Go Grant from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) and their BC Wild School Coordinator Luisa Richardson, the school has embarked on a greening plan that, in its first phase, involves every class in transplanting, caring for and learning about 11 native trees and a variety of native shrubs and plants along the front of the school, the playground, and parking median.

The native plants will be used by all grade levels to teach several aspects of the curriculum through hands-on learning experiences. Each class chose a tree or shrub area to help plant and teachers identified curriculum goals for each grade level and planned pre- and post-planting activities.

Guevremont says, "Learning is focused on curriculum ideas about being curious, exploring the natural world and asking questions. Pre-planting, students looked at the area and were asked what do you see? Any animals, insects, etcetera? Post-planting, students will look at - what is happening now? What is different? What is there now that wasn't there before and what do plants need?"

While planting their tree along the front of the parking meridian, excited students in Flora Wood's grade 1/2 class wished their Douglas Maple "Bonne Chance" as Wood carefully placed the tree and held it straight while the students pushed the soil back in place. Afterwards, they set to work building a berm to help direct rainfall towards the tree's roots like they learned the young tree would need.

By planting native species on the school grounds, the school's objective is to help support pollinators and wildlife and enrich the natural space so students can explore and learn about the local natural environment and life sciences. The project also aims to encourage students to develop a connection to environmental stewardship and facilitate the teaching of Indigenous ways of knowing and learning.

"We (HCTF) strive to give teachers the tools and resources to take their classrooms outside," says Richardson. "The point is to allow kids to develop the stewardship ethic so that as they grow-up they can be citizens that not only contribute through their jobs, but also understand that they live within the bigger environment."

According to Guevremont the project has also helped to bring the school community together, which has been especially needed given the limitations from COVID-19.

"It is hard to feel a sense of togetherness this year because we can't have any assemblies or school events and classes only interact within their cohort. This project involved students and staff from kindergarten to grade 5 and enabled us to work towards a common goal and enhance our school grounds."

In the second phase of the plan the school hopes to create an outdoor classroom, possibly in the spring of 2021.

Community support has come in the form of consultation, volunteer efforts, equipment loans and supplies from: Luisa Richardson with HCTF, Corinne Matheson with Mystic Woods Landscape Design who generously developed the naturescape plan for free, Chuck DeSorcy and the rest of the Greenways Land Trust team, Ian Baikie, Erin and Trevor Nowak and the school's parent advisory council.

"This project has been largely about community," says Guevremont. "We could not have done this without them, and our school will never be able to thank them enough."