Ross Road’s Woodland Walk

In addition to the Edible Garden at Ross Road, the Environment Club is creating a Woodland Walk Habitat Area.  Due to the natural setting of our school located in the forests of Lynn Valley and the Hastings Creek, the Woodland Walk will be a positive addition to our environment.  The path will start at the front of the school and run along the boundary fence to the Edible Garden.  From there it will continue through the trees beyond the wooden playground, through Spooky Island and ending down by the Creek.  

The goal is to create an outdoor learning classroom where children will be involved with nature. We feel that by enhancing the already naturally occurring features of the area we will be able to incorporate the school curriculum for all grades K thru 7.

Designated areas of interest will be: recycling and the compost, edible garden, butterfly habitat, bog area for frogs, newts and salamanders, rotting logs for insect observation, native trees and shrubs for wildlife, meadow flowers, seating area for an outdoor classroom, meteorological stations, and the creek for our salmon release program.

In order to make the Woodland Walk a reality, we will be having a “Community Clean-Up Day” on Saturday, February 4th from 10:00 – 1:00.

If you would like to join us in the tasks of taking out unwanted brambles, and the cutting back of branches and weeds, we would love your participation.  Please come equipped with any gardening tools you have, such as: pruning clippers, rakes, wheelbarrows and gloves. Delaney’s coffee will be available for volunteers.  Please bring your own mug to stay “green”! (Cancelled if heavy rain)

We look forward to seeing you there for the first step in creating a truly “Eco-School” for our children.

—Gillian Gorton

On October 20th, the Environment Club held an assembly at Ross Road to launch the composting program again this year.  The students were reminded about the importance of composting and enjoyed a presentation from a group of students from Carson Graham  called “Tap Bottles” whose mission is to eliminate all plastic water bottles from the North Shore schools.  On the following Monday some of the Environment Club members went into all of the classrooms to educate the students on the “who, what, where, why and hows of composting.

On another note,  you may have noticed over the past few weeks that the garden beds have been installed by the swing set in the primary playground.  For all of you MINECRAFT fans I will say that we have been very busy “diggy diggy hole” and mining and crafting for the Environment Club’s Edible Garden at Ross Road.  Although they look like giant graves at the moment, just in time for Halloween, the Club will be planting garlic over the next few weeks which will be ready for harvesting in the spring.  Perhaps the garlic will keep the vampires away during this ghostly season.

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I would like to welcome Jill Mackay, a parent at Ross Road, to the Environment Club and thank her for all of her expertise and hard work in the installing and digging of the garden beds.  Jill comes to us as a Landscape Designer who was involved in setting up wildlife and edible gardens in the UK.  I would also like to thank Jim Gorton, my husband, for constructing the garden beds and for being such a wonderful provider and husband.  He made me write that. :-)

Many hands make light work and I hope you will enjoy watching the garden grow.

—Gillian Gorton

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Hands-on contact with nature – rather than a text book – has a positive effect on a student’s ability and retention level.  By integrating the garden into the school’s existing curriculum, the children have an opportunity to learn about science, math, health studies, climate changes, international trade routes and global economics – all in their own backyard.   89% of Elementary School Principals gave academic instruction as their number one reason for a school garden.  We call it “Vegucation.”

As a result, the seed has been planted into our minds to the numerous possibilities here at Ross Road.  The Environment Club children have already started their work from the “ground up” and have planted some vegetables in the front garden.  Each of them eagerly got their hands dirty and carefully began the growing process.  Their minds are bursting with ideas on the possibilities of next year’s garden and their newly awaiting “life laboratory”.   And now we wait….

– Gillian Gorton

Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.
—Debby Boone

Peas and beans and lettuce “Oh my!” 
The Environment Club were busy this week planting seeds in their egg carton containers.  With careful watering and lots of sunlight these seeds will soon be ready to plant outside in our gardening pots.  Over the last few weeks of school the children will be able to reap the benefit of their soil and munch on some healthy vegetables.  Thank you so much to the enthusiastic members of the Environment Club, Mrs. Hood and Layne Christensen for all of their hard work and knowledge.  If all grows well – next year’s garden will be bigger and better and will flourish along with the children.

— Gillian Gorton

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Thank you to everyone who has supported the Composting Project at the school. It has been a huge success and we have already started to turn our fruits and vegetable scraps into some nice earthy soil.

Now for Phase Two of the project — The Edible Garden. This spring we are hoping to start a small Edible Garden using some large pots that will be placed out near the composting bins. Two of our classes have agreed to plant and harvest the garden along with the Environment Club members.

If anyone has any extra LARGE pots, either wooden or plastic, that they would like to donate to the school we would be very grateful. You can contact me (Gillian Gorton) by email at thegortons@shaw.ca and I can arrange to pick up the pots and deliver them to the school.

The future garden plan is to build a larger permanent Edible Garden on the school grounds with a grant that has recently been approved from Vancouver Coastal Health. With this program the children will learn how to plant and tend to an edible garden, understand the decomposition of composting, and learn about healthy eating and the benefits of locally grown produce.

Thank you to everyone for your support.
— Gillian Gorton

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The Environment Club is not wasting any time working towards their goal for a “Zero Waste Program” at Ross Road. The Program was launched on February 14th at the Valentine’s Day Assembly on “Caring”.  The Critics are raving about the theatrical performances of Sara McKibben, Anna Smith, Sophie Sluis, Elyse Baragar, Ava Johnson and Jenny Froese in their acting rendition of an operation to save Mother Earth.  The Composting Project will not only teach the children about the magic of science but it will greatly reduce the garbage at the school.

The Environment Club Members are in the process of going around to each classroom to educate all of the students and teachers on the composting process.  Each classroom will have a bucket for all recess and lunchtime composting scraps (green material) which will be composted daily at the school.  By doing so, we not only will reduce our daily waste that is going to the landfill – but we will generate hundreds of kilograms of rich earthy soil.  The Club’s future dream is to one day plant an edible garden at the school using our own composted soil.

Feeding the worms!

Many thanks to Debbie Iveson who has graciously donated our two new composters, which are located near the fence in the primary playground.  The Club would also like to thank everyone for their bucket donations, with special mention going to Barb Woznow who not only donated over 20 buckets, but she saved these buckets from being dumped in the landfill.

– As the Environment Club would say “Compost daily and feed the worms.”

Launched in December 2009, the Environment Club is a student-driven program that aims to help Ross Road School become more sustainable, save resources and protect the environment. The students will identify environmental deficiencies within the school and create a “Plan of Action”. The Club offers teamwork and leadership for all those involved and should prove to make Ross Road an active school in making a difference in our community.

A big Thank You goes out to Gillian Gorton for getting the ball rolling with the Environment Club and for her ongoing dedication in helping the Club achieve its environmental goals!