Vision

Our vision was to provide and opportunity for students to interact with their outdoor spaces. Many of our students live in high-rises and do not access the local green spaces. We are fortunate to have a quad and an edible garden on our school property. Our vision was to create an event that would encourage students to use these spaces, and to learn how to get their hands dirty! With exposure to gardening, landscaping, and exploring the diversity on our school grounds.

Our vision was also to help students make connections with local community stakeholders. We invited Leah Yuyitung of the Woburn Local Residents Table (growninwobunrn) to introduce students to Woburn’s edible garden and to support the installation of our new raised garden beds. This helped students to network and learn about local connections in environmental sustainability.

Action

The entire school was encouraged to participate (1000 students) for the afternoon of April 25, during Earth Week. Classes could sign up for the following:
1. Tree inventory Scavenger Hunt: Investigate biodiversity on Woburn school grounds
2. School Yard Clean Up
3. Create Homes for Wildlife (birdhouse construction + decorating)
4. Raised Garden Bed Assembly
5. General Outdoor Learning / Games
6. Explore the Woburn Pollinator Garden
7. Mulching Trees
8. Garden Bed Prep in the Quad

Each activity had a list of curriculum connections and resources to guide the activity and extend the learning afterwards. Our eco club, STEP (Students Towards Environmental Learning) was in charge of distributing the supplies and supporting the classes. They also ran activity stations outside (bubbles, chalk, outdoor music, a photo station) to make the event vibrant and engaging.

Additionally, a media crew from Ecoschools Canada came to film the event. During Earth week STEP club ran a number of initiatives such as an assembly, a foyer display, a scavenger hunt, “mud pudding” session, an earth-theme anime trivia, and a Sustainable Transportation event (encouraging walking and biking to school for prizes). The film crew interviewed students about sustainable transportation and what they were learned by participating in the extreme makeover.

Reflection & Celebration

We are pleased at the success of the event and the number of classes that participated. It was nice to see such a variety of activities, From students who were mulching trees, digging new garden spaces, using phone apps to identify trees and plants on the property, exploring our new pollinator garden and more, it was excellent exposure to raise awareness about the benefits of being outdoors and interacting with nature. Further, it helped launch our Landscaping Club, so that students who enjoyed the experience will have a chance to further develop their skills and participation. The education curriculum tie backs were also an effective tool to connect the hands on learning to broader understanding such as sustainable food development, connections between environmental politics and equity, climate action and more.

The students enjoyed the presence of the media team, which added to the excitement of the event. It was a lot of work but we are looking forward to making it an annual event!

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