Vision

Our vision was to bring cleaner air into our school and our classrooms. With the Covid-19 pandemic only slightly in the rearview, we recognize the importance of having clean air in our homes and schools where we spend so much of our time. This project also allowed the grade 8 class to take on leadership roles in our school and allowed opportunities for younger students to learn more about plants and their benefits.

Action

To start, our class did research about the benefits of indoor plants and how they clean the air we breathe and from that research, we chose to purchase spider plants and snake plants. Students made pamphlets to go along with their plants that shared the vision of the project, how plants clean the air, why they are important, and a description of each plant. We purchased the plants and materials from a locally owned business, then the class learned how to pot their own indoor plants. We then assigned a student to each plant, and they delivered them to the classroom, or other location, assigned. Students water their plants twice a week and several have consulted with other teachers about what to do if there’s an issue or if they have questions. The students have really taken leadership over this project.

Reflection & Celebration

This project has been such a positive experience for our school community. Several of the grade 8 students have received compliments and recognition for being such good role models during their time in other classrooms while they are caring for their plants. Teachers and students are excited to have beautiful plants and bright, and colourful pots in their classrooms and it has been wonderful to have the older students visit with the younger ones, after Covid-19 had us separated for so long. The grade 8 class has taken this project on in stride and there have been many discussions about plants and their benefits to our indoor space. We are hoping this project is a jumping off spot for a bigger and more impactful project next year.