As environmental stewards, grade five and six Powell River Christian School students are applying learned classroom and outdoors skills in order to support a salmon habitat in the region.
“Doing all of this work is helping the salmon,” said principal Ryan Gee. “That, in turn, helps serve the community.”
Moving outside of the classroom and into the field is a hands-on and authentic way of learning, he added.
For the last several weeks, outdoor-education teacher Matt Duggan has been taking students outside of the classroom to a salmon stream to rid the area of invasive species, such as ivy, holly and laurel.
Duggan said the children have been learning that those plants choke the life of cedar trees, which are essential to the health of the creek and salmon.
Consequently, the class fulfills the school’s approach to its purpose in Powell River, according to Gee.
“The key thing at our school is we’re wanting to be community servers,” he said. “We have a heart for this town. We love it in Powell River and we want to serve our community.”
As part of that, said Gee, students such as Connor McFadden, 11, learn that serving the salmon habitat also serves the community.
“I would like to learn a lot more out here,” said McFadden. “I like going on hikes and helping the environment.”
As part of the salmon project, McFadden is learning subjects such as math in a different way due to the implementation and integration of the new BC school curriculum, according to Gee.
“It’s very organic in that it lends to integrated learning,” said Gee. “The subjects all cross over. These kids integrated their art projects on the theme of first nations art, and they made crib boards, so they integrated math within that.”
Gee said before the outdoor component of the program was added, students spent a month in the classroom learning about what the native and invasive species were, then how to discriminate between the two, before actually going out along the stream, pulling out and cutting down plants.
“They have motivation to help protect the environment,” said Duggan. “We look at it as being stewards of creation. They all understand it because they’ve been able to see it and do it.”
What students learn about salmon habitat and conservation will, in turn, be taught to others when the class takes its experience to Science World in Vancouver in May, according to 10-year-old Elise English.
“We’re going to go and help teach people about what we’ve been doing in Powell River,” said English. “Then they can try to make a difference in their own town.”
