Vision

For 68 years, St. Gerard School has been a cornerstone of the Credit Woodlands community in Mississauga. This year, we embarked on an exciting initiative to transform our courtyard into beautiful gardens filled with native pollinators, fruits, vegetables, and perennials.
Our project aims to support bees, butterflies, and birds, connect students with nature, and promote sustainability within our neighborhood. The Grade 7/8 students took on the challenge, designing, planting, and maintaining their own gardens while learning about the interrelationship between human settlement and sustainability. The hands-on experience allowed students to ask questions and understand the impact of natural and human activities on their environment. Each group chose native pollinator plants, documented their progress through photos, and took ownership of watering and planting. The eco club joined the effort, creating nature walks and painting rocks for decoration. Additionally, the entire school participated in an Earth Day cleanup to enhance our green spaces. Our local community played a crucial role by donating seeds, plants, and soil, making this collaborative effort a reality. This project not only beautified our school but also fostered a deeper connection between our students and the environment.

Action

The goal of this project is multi-fold: supporting bees, butterflies, and birds, connecting students with nature, and promoting sustainability in our neighborhood. The effort began with 44 enthusiastic grade 7/8 students in Geography class, who were studying the relationship between human settlements and sustainability. They explored how their ecological footprints affect the local ecosystem and recognized the importance of pollination for our food supply and biodiversity. Students embarked on an experiential inquiry project, designing their own pollinator gardens at the front of the school. Divided into groups, they researched native pollinator plants, created blueprints, and planned the layout of their gardens. They documented the progress and maintained visual records. Students worked tirelessly, removing grass to be composted and adding triple mix soil and manure. They planted seeds and used rocks to create garden borders. The total garden area spanned 85 square meters, with community members donating additional plants and seeds. Native plants were sourced from NGOs like Oakville Green Conservation Authority, Riverwood Conservancy, and Streetsville Horticultural Society. Informative posters created by students highlighted the importance of pollinators. The kindergarten class showed great interest in the gardens, asking questions and observing the students’ work. A dedicated group took ownership of watering and weeding the gardens. The eco club joined by organizing a nature walk, painting rocks for garden borders, and collecting garden seeds during Earth Day clean-up.

Reflection & Celebration

A dedicated group took ownership of watering and weeding the gardens. The eco club joined by organizing a nature walk, painting rocks for garden borders, and collecting garden seeds during Earth Day clean-up. The students deeply connected with the ecosystem, investing time and effort into their gardens. Their work led to noticeable changes in the school and neighborhood, including increased bee activity and the use of the pollinator house. Specifically, we created a pollinator garden to encourage pollinators in our local ecosystem, transform unused spaces of the school into thriving green spaces, and give the students an experiential opportunity outdoors to connect with the environment. We also wished to involve the local community in donating their time, seeds/plants, and soil to make the gardens flourish. The students developed skills to identify the growth of a seed in nature and recognize signs indicating when a garden needs attention. As they regularly watered and tracked the progress of their gardens, they invited other classes to observe, and we began to see many pollinators showing up. The students made a personal investment of time, sentiment, and effort to make their garden thrive as a relationship to nature. The rest of the school and neighborhood remarked on the changes, and although the project is ongoing, we are already seeing bees show up and use the pollinator house. Join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our pollinator garden project and the incredible difference it has made in our community! Together, we can continue to support our environment and create a sustainable future.

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