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Many hands large and small made light work of a springtime kick-start to the Valleycliffe Elementary School effort to create a 鈥渓iving classroom鈥� on the weekend.
About 100 people gathered on Saturday (April 26) 鈥� four days after Earth Day (April 22) 鈥� to dig out raised planting beds, plant trees donated by Tree Canada and the 撸奶社区River Watershed Society as part of a new 鈥渆phemeral wetland鈥� and unveil an interpretive sign about the natural wonders to be found in a seemingly open field between the school and the Stawamus River dike.
In addition to teachers, parents and students from the school, those in attendance included Edith Tobe, director of the 撸奶社区River Watershed Society, which has helped fundraise for the project, and Ryan Cook, the local woodcarver whose expertly crafted pillars flank the new interpretive sign created by Squamish-based InBiz.
Rhonda O鈥橤rady, the Valleycliffe School Parent Advisory Council (PAC) chair, penned a recent press release about the event under the title 鈥渘o child left inside.鈥� The premise, she said, is that youngsters learn far better outdoors 鈥� whether the subject matter is geometry, social studies or science.
鈥淭he idea is to get them outside, where they actually learn better,鈥� said O鈥橤rady, a biologist and environmental educator by trade. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e more engaged, there鈥檚 less bullying when they鈥檙e outside and they鈥檙e in the natural environment.鈥�
Raised beds, which last year served as vegetable gardens, will this year be planted as 鈥減ollinator gardens,鈥� with flowers that attract bees and butterflies. The 鈥渆phemeral wetland鈥� 鈥� which will contain water during the rainy season but remain drier in the summer 鈥� is being designed as prime habitat for frogs and salamanders. Both are already present in the area, O鈥橤rady said.
The PAC and SRWS are also fundraising for an outdoor amphitheatre that鈥檚 planned near the wetland. The facility is envisioned as a place where students can study quietly or as a venue for concerts and interpretive talks, she said.
Next week (May 5 to 9), SRWS is running its Field Day Program for students in the Mamquam Reunion area just past the Riverside RV Resort and Campground near Centennial Way.听
鈥淲e are fully booked with elementary schools visiting the site to learn, experience and discover riparian forests, salmon, insects, plants and the amazing way everything is connected,鈥� O鈥橤rady wrote in an email to The Chief.
