Vision

This project was born out of two powerful and interconnected inspirations that directly impact our students and community. First, our school has a significant Indigenous student population, and our curriculum emphasizes Indigenous knowledge, particularly around land stewardship and the teachings of the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum agreement. Our class is committed to understanding and honouring the role of Indigenous peoples in caring for the land, and we strive to apply those values in meaningful, real-world ways.
Second, our local community of Fort Erie is experiencing rapid development. Green spaces once rich with native vegetation and pollinator habitats are being cleared for new housing subdivisions, many of which are visible from our school grounds. This loss has contributed to a noticeable decline in pollinator populations, especially bees—an urgent environmental issue our students feel deeply connected to.

Action

Motivated by this environmental change and a desire to be part of the solution, our students chose to take direct, tangible action. They developed a plan to restore biodiversity and support pollinator populations by creating native pollinator gardens on school grounds. Going further, they are also assembling seed packs and seed bombs using native seeds sourced from local growers and recycled paper collected from the school. These will be distributed to students’ families and newcomer households in the surrounding subdivisions, offering them an opportunity to begin their own sustainable gardens.
Through this project, our students are not only learning about climate resilience, habitat restoration, and sustainability—they are living it. By blending traditional ecological knowledge with local action, this initiative fosters community involvement, environmental awareness, and a long-term commitment to protecting the land and waters for future generations.
Due to the amount of sustainable processes in creating our pollination project, we have added a second part to beautify our school and help teach about plant life by creating propagation stations for all classrooms using reclaimed wood and test tubes that were sourced from a closing high school. The grade eights will become involved with a few high school students to help use a bench drill press for the stations.

Reflection & Celebration

The students were made aware of several things throughout this project. We have been integrating the Dish With One Spoon wampum agreement in our actions in class. Only take what you need and leave plenty for others and future generations. We are more aware of needs and wants, as well as the resources we use in school.
The amount of wasted paper and other resources in schools is very high so we are now working to reduce the amount of paper and waste by developing an Eco-club that promotes sustainable learning.
Finally, we are learning that a small group of people can have a major impact on our environment. We generated enough seeds to plant over 4,000 square meters and used all recyclable resources to make and distribute seeds to our community. The impact on our pollinators and how we are rejuvenating the land has created a greater sense of pride in my students.

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