Vision

Our vision was to involve our grade 11 Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices classes in a project with a concrete commitment to honour the land.

Action

One of our grade 11 Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices 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. We bought plants native to the area from Kayanase, a Six Nations-owned greenhouse, and we also had some native species donated by the Halton Environmental Network. In total, the students planted 22 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

After finishing this project, students completed a reflection where they were asked to think about the value of the activities we had completed and what learning they had gained throughout the experience. We also discussed the project as a class and viewed the photos we took throughout our day of planting. Overall, every student 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, and a few students noted that they are excited to check in on all of their hard work this summer. During planting, all students were actively engaged and working with peers they don’t normally chat with during class. There was laughter, singing, hard work, and students frequently commenting on what a good job everyone was doing. 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 course every year.

Links