Letter from the Director
Movement Afoot
by Cam Collyer
Can you feel it, the community expanding? Building local communities is one of the most powerful outcomes of school ground greening projects, but as you start meeting this fall to talk about site plans and fundraising, consider the bigger picture, too—that you are part of a worldwide community of people engaged in reuniting kids with nature. It's a movement driven in part by our intuitive understanding that children's bodies, minds and spirits benefit from being in nature but also by a growing body of research that supports these gut instincts. For example, a recent study by Andrea Faber Taylor (2009) found that a walk in nature can substantially improve the symptoms of attention deficit disorder over a walk in the city.
We know that today's wired, sedentary kids are spending less time outdoors than any generation in history, with a host of consequences: increased rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, anxiety and attention disorders, decreased physical fitness, and diminished daily experience with the natural world. Without a base of experience, it is difficult to build an understanding of how nature sustains life on our planet. Additionally, new social media adds yet another dimension of screen allure, enticing children to "scroll" and "click" rather than to run, jump and explore.
It paints a depressing portrait, but there is an equally uplifting story. At the recent Children's Health and the Environment conference in London, Ontario, there were many reasons for optimism. One example was the Growing up Boulder program, building on the work of UNESCO's Growing up in Cities initiative, an inspired project that engages children in improving the places they live and play in many places around the world. Another was the exciting work of Marketta Kytta, a Finnish researcher, who has developed a "softGIS" methodology that is being used to develop place-based environmental child-friendliness. Her work is bringing attention to the importance of both children's independent mobility and their opportunities for healthy play and socializing in the environment and then using the data in city planning. Closer to home, we learned of the Ontario town of Collingwood's recent development of their Urban Design Standards that, among other things, will make natural playground design the new norm in all of Collingwood's new parks. That's exciting.
Here at Evergreen's national office, we're excited to announce that we are moving into our very own new home at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto's Don River valley. Evergreen Brick Works will house our head office but it will be so much more. It will be an environmental community centre serving children, community groups and families in Toronto as well as a living laboratory and national stage for designing, planting, and programming urban green spaces. We're building on the ideas that have been implemented in many corners of the country and hope that, in time, we will be generating ideas and innovations that may find their way onto your school ground. To boot, all our staff are very excited to have a home where we can get our hands in the dirt on a daily basis. Learn more about Evergreen Brick Works on our web site.
Finally, our annual Learning Grounds Forum will bring together designers and school personnel from all over Canada on November 12–13. Book your spot now. We'll keep you abreast of the highlights of that highly anticipated weekend on our blog. And if you live in Toronto, or are passing through, come on down to Evergreen Brick Works and see what we're up to. We'd love to meet you and show you our new home.
Cam Collyer
Program Director, Evergreen
School Profile
Hands-on Learning for Student Teachers
"As she places the two six-by-sixes together, he crouches down beside her and begins ratcheting the bolt in, as the school custodian had shown him moments earlier. The two work in perfect unison as though previously choreographed."
This is a clip from a video shot during the installation of a high school greening project at Perspectives II High School in northeastern Montreal. Perspectives is an alternative school designed to engage youth who have had difficulties with school and who bring heavy baggage to the classroom: drug addiction, theft, trouble at home, behavioural issues.
The school was part of the "McGill-Evergreen Teaching for a Healthy Planet" field experience for second year undergraduate students in the Faculty of Education. In all, 20 student teachers in four schools – two elementary and two high schools – spent a half day per week in their host schools over the course of the year, working on a variety of projects from vermicomposting to bird gardens to greening school grounds.
At Perspectives, four student teachers worked with the students from September through May. They talked about the current environmental situation of our planet and explored topics such as recycling, climate change and activism. As the year progressed, the students decided they wanted to plant some trees and shrubs and create a greener school ground.
When it was time to measure the grounds for the preparation of the base plan, one
of the pupils said, "You mean this isn't just bull***t?! We're actually gonna DO this?!" Principal Barbara White couldn't believe how engaged the kids were:
"These are students who have had a terrible time of their schooling so far. With learning and behaviour disorders and disabilities, as well as troubled home lives, they have tremendous challenges to overcome. They are often difficult to engage and are for the most part very passive in their schoolwork. What I have seen with the Evergreen–McGill program are students who are involved, engaged, motivated and even invested in their work. They see the meaning behind what they're doing and they have really enjoyed working both with Evergreen's Associate, Kathleen Usher and the McGill student teachers."
The students laboured hard to create an outdoor gathering space with benches, planters and a mural in the back schoolyard. All the work – from design through construction – was done by a diverse team, including pupils, teachers, McGill student teachers and the school custodian, Kosta Karzis, who brought unfailing enthusiasm and his own power tools to the project and became the de facto shop teacher for the kids.
It was a deep learning experience; the McGill students increased their knowledge and understanding of environmental education and natural science, and were able to apply their classroom learning in a real context, bridging the well-documented theory-to-practice gap that exists in many teacher education programs.
When the project video was presented at a recent Canadian Humanities and Social Sciences Congress, one participant commented: "As an educator, I have long recognized the importance of hands-on learning situations to add meaning and relevance to a youth's education but never before have I seen such compelling visual evidence. It was reminiscent of of a dance where teacher and student were working so cooperatively, so seamlessly that one didn't know for sure where one ended and the other began."
Resources for the Outdoor Classroom
Lesson Plan: Printing with Nature
Japanese Fish Printing - Gyotaku - is an ancient technique said to have originated when fishermen wanted to accurately record a catch. This stunning art activity for grades 3 and 4, from Evergreen's 2009 Halifax Summer Institute, can be done with real fish or foam cut-outs.
View the lesson plan » (PDF, 530kB)
How-To: Make Your Own Stepping Stones
Need a great idea for a pathway through your school ground greening project? Check out this how-to from Westwood Elementary School in Prince George, BC.
Evergreen Brick Works School Programming
The school program at Evergreen Brick Works is being piloted in September but schools can begin to book now. The program focuses on place-based education and gets kids outside to experience their surroundings. It is offered year-round, and features full-day and multi-day packages for grades three, four and five. We also offer half-day and full-day programs for grades six to ten. For detailed information on the grade-level programs, please see our website or contact Paul Gifford at pgifford@evergreen.ca or 416-596-1495 x 388.
To reduce costs - financial and environmental - and to create an experiential link to the city, we will meet school groups at Castle Frank subway station and begin the program with a 30-minute ravine walk to Evergreen Brick Works. We'll then head back to Castle Frank at the end of the day. Evergreen will also be offering a shuttle bus service to and from Broadview station.
Teaching in the Outdoor Classroom, 2010
We sent teachers to summer school! Our three and four-day teacher-training summer institutes in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto wrapped up at the end of August.
Click here to find out more about the institutes »
Grant Alert!
Looking to add some green to your barren school ground? Want a lush, outdoor classroom for your students? Apply now for the 2010/2011 Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds grant program, and please take note of changes to the program this year. Applications will be accepted starting September 7, 2010.
There are four intake dates:
- September 17, 2010 - for groups that have already begun work on an application over the summer and are looking to plant in the fall.
- December 17, 2010 - for those who want to plant early spring 2011 and need to start planning.
- March 4, 2011 - for spring plantings
- June 3, 2011 - for late spring/early summer plantings.
Please submit your application by the intake date that works best for you. Keep in mind, funds may run out before the last intake date and we strongly recommend getting your application in early. We will notify applicants of their funding status by email about two weeks after their intake date.
For information on eligibility, accessing the application and more, visit the grants page on our website.
If you're looking for additional funding for your greening project, check our list of other funders.
The Green Bookshelf
Leaving home, returning home and kids making a difference - these are the themes in this batch of titles from environmental educator Judy Halpern of The Magic Suitcase.
I Know Here
Publisher: Groundwood Books (2010)
Author: Laurel Croza
llustrator: Matt James
Subject: science, language arts, character education, personal and social development
Themes: environment and ecology, reading, feelings
Grades: 1–5
Genre: Storybook
Summary: The little girl in this story lives with her family in a trailer in northeastern Saskatchewan, where her father is building a dam. She knows everything about the place she lives - her road, her school, the forest where she plays hide-and-seek and where the wolf howls at night, the hill where she goes tobogganing in winter . . . But the dam is nearly finished and when summer comes the family is moving to Toronto - a place marked by a big red star on the map at school. "Have people in Toronto seen what I've seen?" the little girl asks. This simple, beautifully written story, complemented by Matt James' vibrant illustrations, will resonate deeply with anyone who has had to leave their home for a new place.
Going Home: The Mystery of Animal Migration
Publisher: Dawn Publications (2010)
Author: Marianne Berkes
Illustrator: Jennifer DiRubbio
Subject: science, social studies
Themes: animals, cycles, seasons, migration
Grades: K–4
Genre: informational storybook
Summary: By foot, fin, and wing, many animals migrate "home," sometimes over very long distances. They have no maps. They may skip many meals. Why do they do it? How do they find their way? For the migrating animals, their story is one of determination and accomplishment. For us, their story is one of mystery and admiration. A "Tips from the Author" section offers additional educational opportunities as once again Marianne Berkes combines her teaching, writing, and theatrical skills to combine entertainment with education.
One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers (2008)
Author and Illustrator: Janet Wilson
Subject: social studies, character education
Themes: social justice, community helpers, war and peace
Grades: 4–8
Genre: informational book
Summary: One Peace celebrates the "Power of One," and specifically the accomplishments of children from around the globe who have worked to promote world peace. Janet Wilson challenges today's children to strive to make a difference in this fact-filled and fascinating book.
Links We Love
Hinterland Who's Who
A collaborative project between the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Canadian Wildlife Service, with tons of information, activities and lesson plans.
Green Teacher Magazine
A Canadian publication packed with stories, activities and inspiration.
Izaak Walton League
A US organization with a great series of how-to building projects for youth (build a model watershed, a bee house, a three-bin composter, etc.).
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Listen to bird calls, browse the photos, watch videos, search and discover. This is a fantastic site for all things bird-ish!
Learn More
For more information about Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds, please contact:
Janice Bearg, Program Manager
jbearg@evergreen.ca
416-596-1495 x241
