A Planting Project Continued
Vision
Our vision was to involve our grade 11 Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices college classes in a project with a concrete commitment to honour the land.
Action
Our grade 11 Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices college classes initiated a planting project on school grounds. They began by watching a documentary about the impacts of technology on wild rice in Lake of the Woods as a launching point for discussion and framed their work around Article 29, section 1 of UNDRIP. They chose a plant native to the area to research and prepared an APEC paragraph as well as a short presentation to “pitch” to their classmates on why we should plant their chosen native species. The students also explored the impact of invasive species in Ontario. The class chose a planting site on school grounds as a class. They decided to build upon the work of previous classes. We bought plants native to the area from Kayanase, a Six Nations-owned greenhouse. In total, the students planted 25 native plants on school grounds near the track that is used by our whole school and local community, as we are a joint facility with a community centre and a public library.
Reflection & Celebration
Students enjoyed this project immensely. They appreciated that they were able to research and ‘pitch’ their own choices for plants that would be purchased; the fact that they had such a say in this aspect of the project made them feel very connected to the gardens. During planting, all students were actively engaged. The students also loved that they were able to connect to their learning about UNDRIP in a more active, engaging way and to feel like they are making a difference not just by learning about the importance of planting and supporting native plant species but also by creating gardens that other students can learn from and enjoy. Overall, the students loved taking part in this project, and all said that it should be part of the Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices courses every year. So far, this is the second year in a row that these classes have taken part in this project.