Vision

As a Development and Peace school, we wanted to plant a tree to bring awareness to ecological justice and to sustainability. With this tree planting, we would connect three main aspects – conservation, our faith, and our local Indigenous culture.

Action

As part of a board initiative, our school became part of Development and Peace, a worldwide organization that brings awareness to and tackles social justice issues by starting in the classroom and branches out worldwide. This year, we have been asked to complete initiatives as part of their campaign “Stand for the Land”. As part of this project investigated what plants are native and hardy to our school’s specific eco-zone (with the help of the local conservation authority). The red maple was chosen and connected with our local Indigenous tribe (Caldwell First Nation). We connected with the Indigenous Board Consultant to discuss how this type of tree is significant in Indigenous education. Once we decided what type of tree, we organized a school-wide tree planting ceremony. As part of this ceremony, we discussed ecological justice and how it relates to our community and the world. As stated in Development and Peace, students discovered how “ecological justice celebrates the interconnection and interdependence of all beings and recognizes our human responsibility to co-exist in harmony for the well-being of the Earth community.” Students (with the help of representatives from the local conservation authority) explored the benefits of planting trees – how they help combat climate change, how they are the air we breathe, how they help combat heat and more. As part of our curriculum connections, students made connections to our Christian faith (how the earth is sacred and how we are stewards of the earth), to science (how our resources are finite and how ecosystems are complex and fragile), and to Indigenous education (how our land is used and the history behind our school territory). As an IB school, we made connections to our IB curriculum framework and the global contexts. As part of those global contexts, we looked at globalization and sustainability, and fairness and development. Students have been inspired by Development and Peace and their initiatives and how one action, such as planting a tree, can have many positive impacts. As part of the community, our tree and pollinator plants were purchased from a local nursery. We also connected with our local parish and invited the priest to come and bless the tree.

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