Vision

Students grow their connections in the Greenhouse at the St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School community! Students in grade 9 to grade 12 at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School worked together with a community partner to complete the “Friendships in Bloom” Action Project.

The students wanted to highlight the importance of gardening and pollination to New Comers to Canada and also any other interested students at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School. St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s Environment Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program was learning about sustainability, species identification, pollination and more throughout various experiential learning events, including a few trips to The Riverwood Conservancy. Students in the Environment SHSM specialize in learning about the Environment through courses, workshops, hands on experiences, and more. The Environment SHSM students learned about a variety of plants during workshops/certifications at The Riverwood Conservancy and they took what they learned at The Riverwood Conservancy certification workshops and applied it to our Action Project while working with the other English Language Learner students, plus other interested students in the school, as well. The intent was to welcome New Commers to Canada with an interesting and meaningful experience in hopes of making new friendships and putting down roots in their new school community.

This tied into the Religion curriculum with Environmental Stewardship and our Catholic Graduate Expectations of being a responsible citizen. During Catholic Education Week and beyond, we built community through environmental consciousness and creating an appreciation for nature, for planting flowers and plants. We also strengthened our friendships with new students in our school by offering this special experience in the Greenhouse to learn about nature and environmental sustainability. Students wished to reduce inequalities by offering access to gardening materials and experiences to all students and staff by inviting them into the school’s large greenhouse for a unique experience. We launched off the theme for Catholic Education Week, which was “We called to love”… a perfect theme for making new friendships!

Action

Students were invited to the school’s greenhouse. Here Environment SHSM students, together with their SHSM Advisor, Mrs. Janik-Corvinelli, and a Religion teacher, Ms. Boyle, led a gardening tutorial about indoor and outdoor plants. Students learned about the health benefits of the calm process of gardening and of having indoor plants. They also learned about the specific plants we were using and how they help to improve air quality indoors.

Students and teachers also explained the importance of pollination and how certain outdoor plants attract pollinators, which is beneficial to the environment. Students learned how pollinators are important to agricultural economies, to our food supply, and to our surrounding landscapes. Students learned how pollinators assist in sustaining the environment.

Students got to select either an indoor plant or a couple outdoor plants to plant in a pot. Some students have not gardened or planted before this activity. This experience in the school’s greenhouse exposed the students new to Canada that gardening is important and beneficial. It also allowed them the opportunity to socialize, make connections, learn about the environment, and try something new. Working with soil and plants is not a typical activity that students get to participate in, therefore making this experience available to the students was something special for them. Maybe they will try it at home and teach their families what they have learned.

Reflection & Celebration

The teachers who nurtured this project, Sonia Janik-Corvinelli and Ms. Boyle, are very proud of the SHSM student leaders who helped host this Action Project. The SHSM students had wonderful ideas, took initiative, demonstrated enthusiasm and care, and put forth great effort. Congratulations on a wonderful project with intentional steps to help student friendships bloom and to make an environmental impact!