No More Tears!

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Author: Robert Patterson – The Growing Connection

The Growing Connection collaborates with schools and communities across Canada and around the world, engaging young people in solutions right at their doorsteps.

All TGC gardens use the Caja sub-irrigated container, thus relieving school administrators / facility managers of any concerns about installing and maintaining a garden. With the Caja, the garden can be installed virtually anywhere (yes – we still need sun!), there is no possibility of contamination, and the containers can be taken home by students/families during the summer break. 

At TGC, we realize that teachers everywhere are working so hard because it is their passion (certainly it is not for the money!), so we try to orient our inputs and training services in ways that are completely adaptable, flexible to each and every situation, and in a manner that makes the teachers’ lives easier and more rewarding.  The simplicity and ease of use of the Caja system makes this possible.  And teachers can use the Caja both indoors and outdoors.  

TGC has been building space/water efficient gardens at schools around the world since 2002 – this links schools into an international network that allows kids to share / compare their learning and growing experiences with peers across Canada and around the world…. Here is a brief, touching example of the value of gardening at school: 

Carmen Oliviera is the teacher/coordinator of the TGC garden at Burrows Hall Public School, a very multi-cultural elementary school in Toronto.  Carmen told us this story shortly after the Caja garden was installed in 2017:

“This afternoon I was called to the Kindergarten class because one of our most difficult students was having a huge tantrum.  I asked her if she wanted to walk to the garden with me and she immediately calmed down and went to put on her jacket.  We spent some time looking at the plants, talking about their growth, and then she began to open up and share with me her feelings about what had happened in class.  She said that every time she feels like she’s going to have a meltdown, she’ll ask to go to the garden because it makes her feel good… it just goes to show what contact with nature can do for us all.  She now regularly asks how the garden is doing and during recess joins me to eat some of her favourite spinach and watch the progress of our strawberries.  You can see and feel the calm the garden brings to her.  It has become one of the most special places in our school in such a short time.

We usually highlight education, health and taste at our school gardens… we should not forget the emotional impact as well.”

Let’s get growing!

Contact us at: robert (at) thegrowingconnection.com

Water Rockers Share Sustainability Ideas

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Author: Cathy Dykstra (Grade 5 Teacher, Kortright Hills P.S., Guelph)

For their “Conservation of Energy” unit, the grade 5 “Water Rocker” class at Kortright Hills P.S. researched sustainable energy and what the term “sustainable” means. Next, they researched sustainable energy vehicles that already exist around the world. Their task was to take some of those ideas and create their own original sustainable energy vehicles. Their inquiries quickly led to them learning about sustainable materials that their vehicles could be made from. Tires made from Milkweed? Car seats from Bamboo? Many of the students also wanted to help the plastic problem by making vehicle parts out of plastic bottles. The students described their vehicle designs in letters to the Guelph mayor. Then they had fun building their vehicles out of plastiscene, cardboard, and paper. They also made short one minute videos describing why we all need to be more sustainable at both home and school. These learners were even featured on a local radio show 93.3 CFRU talking about their research and their environmental hopes and fears for the future.

On separate occasions, the Water Rockers invited Guelph City Councillors, a School Board Trustee, a teacher from the Guelph Outdoor School, sustainability experts from both the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo, and representatives from a company called Our Energy Guelph to not only see their projects, but to offer their own ideas and feedback. This was extremely exciting for this incredible group of young environmentalists. The hope is that some of the students will be given opportunities to present their sustainability research to local businesses. Hopefully, their ideas will spread throughout the community and beyond. Perhaps one of their vehicles will even be built one day with the help of these local partners. 

Not only do learning situations such as these truly engage students and inspire them to gain a deeper understanding, they are also incredibly meaningful and purposeful. They connect students to the community in an important way and add an extra layer of value to their learning and understanding. The adults in the community LOVE to see for themselves that young people care deeply about the planet. The students, in turn, feel like capable, knowledgeable, young environmental citizens and are inspired to make a difference in their homes, their schools, and in their community. Guelph City Council has made a mandate recently to make Guelph 100% sustainable by 2050, and as a community these conversations matter. 

This one project will have a long-lasting impact on all of my Water Rocker students and I couldn’t be prouder or more inspired!

Welcome to 2021 – Message from President

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Happy New Year from OSEE

It’s been a mighty year for the collective human experience, with much upheaval, deep reflection and adaptation all around. Though we are not beyond the pandemic just yet, as we enter a new year there is something in the air that stirs a collective sense of hope and a reframing of the possible.

For champions of environmental education, there exists significant momentum to build upon this year. We’ve seen beautiful and diverse expressions across Canada, and far beyond, of educators sharing knowledge, resources and strategies designed to scale out skills and comfort for teaching outdoor and nature-based education. This has been borne of both a commitment to these learning approaches being part of every learner’s experience, and because they offer many answers to the needs of teaching, physical and mental well-being, and reflection during this time.

Though our human baselines have changed, many of us have found a sense of groundedness, familiarity, and comfort in tuning our attention to the baselines we can learn to read in flora and fauna, marvelling in the lessons nature offers as a teacher. Perhaps, we may see a groundswell of interest in environmental education and environmental ethics on the back of this collective experience. At OSEE, we have a group of dedicated, creative and passionate board members who are looking forward to continuing to offer you inspiration, resources, and pathways for celebrating, learning, and gathering (albeit, virtually for now!) around environmental education. 

Check out our EE Tools and Resources page to learn about upcoming events and opportunities. We’d also love your input to give shape to our 2021 virtual EcoLinks conference.

Jessie Cowe – OSEE President