Vision

The Healing Forest initiative stems from a national project that has encouraged communities, schools, and individuals to build green spaces where Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities can come together in reconciliation. The purpose of the forest, first and foremost, is to create an area where students, teachers, and the neighbouring communities can visit to learn, share, and reflect on Canada’s history with Indigenous Peoples.

Furthermore, this space will also serve as a permanent structure representing our stance on climate change and environmental sustainability. There is no question that the environmental and health benefits of planting trees are numerous. Forests can store carbon, clean the air, preserve soils, nurture a diversity of species, cool the air, cool the earth, and act as sound and wind barriers. We hope to have this forest become a much-needed space for students to disconnect and make personal connections within nature, a proven aid in overall physical and mental wellness.

Action

Heritage is taking action to create this green space by doing the following:
-We have spoken with several First Nation community members to see who would like to be involved in this project.
-A forestry engineer has evaluated our space along with verifying our soil quality.
(They will be confirming what plants, trees, and shrubs would grow best in our climate and on our property that are also representative of plants that would be typically used and found within our Indigenous communities)
-We have completed our first fundraiser to raise awareness surrounding our project and raise funds (through our student body)
-We have purchased our first tree that will be planted this week!
-We have also had a “clean up day” where students went around removing trash around our property. Students were very focused on keeping our garden/outdoor classroom clean and recognized the importance behind community clean-ups.

Reflection & Celebration

We strongly believe in the importance of providing our students with a calming and nurturing space where they can take time to reflect not only on our country’s history but also be given the opportunity to discover all the environmental benefits this forest will provide. Heritage’s community takes immense pride in knowledge, personal growth, and above all, understanding. We are dedicated to having this space be representative of exactly that.

We would love for the Healing Forest to be an extension of Heritage’s stance on climate change and environmental sustainability. This is a change that we have been working very hard to put into place with our school’s community. With our outdoor classroom/garden now open to our student body and surrounding communities, we are continuously looking for further ways to remove our vast land of grass and replace it with a space thriving with life where people can come and thoroughly enjoy the outdoors and take part in taking care of our little piece of land to learn more about the importance of environmental sustainability.