130 Altona-area grade 6 students took their education outdoors on Thursday to learn more about the eco-system and sustainability.
It was all for Border Land School Division's (BLSD) inaugural ECO EXPO that saw the kids from area schools cycle through a series of workshops that included gardening, sewing, an outdoor scavenger hunt and more, all at the local park, Buffalo Creek Nature Park and the Rhineland Pioneer Centre.
The workshops were:
Designing for the Future – Manitoba Council for International Cooperation
Cattails – Prairie Shore Botanicals
Soil Studies – Pembina Valley Watershed
Water Dipping – Lake Winnipeg Foundation
Gardening and Rock Painting – The Woodmore Women’s Institute
Sewing – Connie Heppner-Mueller
Tree and Critter Scavenger Hunt – Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
"It was an idea that came from Shevchenko (School in Vita) having their ESD Day that they've had for years," explained Krista Curry, BLSD Superintendent.
"As an ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) priority committee, we wanted to prioritize something for kids here," she added.
"As a committee, we've educated ourselves on the UN's (United Nations') sustainable goals and so, now it's time to transfer some of that knowledge and grow the interest in our students so that places like this park will be here for these kids' kids," added Curry.
A fun day
We spoke to Emma just after she finished the gardening workshop.
"I'm having a good day. We're learning that if we help the eco-system then we'll get to have a longer life and have it to the fullest," she said.
When asked what she learned, Emma had this to say, "I'm not very good at identifying seeds, but now I will be better!"
Also in the gardening workshop was Ain, who learned a neat fact about carrots.
"I learned that carrot seeds are in the leaves, and it develops after two years."
Connecting to learn new skills
Scarlett and Yvonne from Gretna Elementary both participated in the sewing workshop where students learned a series of mending techniques by stitching on a felt bookmark in the shape of pants.
"You get to make friends and walk around and learn new things," replied Yvonne when asked why she thought events like the ECO EXPO were important.
Scarlett added, "we got to connect with elders, and they got to teach us new skills."
One of those skills included learning what can all be done with a cattail.
"You can actually use a bunch of different parts of it to eat!", noted Scarlett.
The intent, according to Superintendent Curry, is to host the ECO EXPO on an annual basis.
