Planting ideas in young minds

High school student teaches climate lessons with garden boxes

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A 17-year-old is giving more than 600 elementary school students the opportunity to address climate change.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/06/2022 (1431 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 17-year-old is giving more than 600 elementary school students the opportunity to address climate change.

Alexandra Mason is the brains behind a community outreach project for which she teaches lessons to students in grades 1 to 4 at six Winnipeg schools. The lessons, which she wrote herself, cover an entire science and biology unit that explores growth and change in plants.

Along the way, Mason has built wooden garden boxes she’s donated to each school. The boxes will allow students to do some gardening themselves, putting into practice some of the things Mason touches on when she teaches them about climate change and how plants work.

Alexandra Mason is a student in Propel, a project-based, alternative learning program at Nelson McIntyre Collegiate. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)
Alexandra Mason is a student in Propel, a project-based, alternative learning program at Nelson McIntyre Collegiate. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

“My goal is to give youth the opportunity to see how they can make a positive impact on our world,” Mason says.

Mason chose to work on the lessons and garden boxes as the major project for her final semester of Grade 12. She is a student in Propel, an interdisciplinary, project-based learning program at Nelson McIntyre Collegiate, in which students earn credits as they pursue areas of interest.

In recent months, Mason has crafted lesson plans, applied for donations and grants, and built the garden boxes. She’s spent her time scheduling, responding to project inquiries, and researching the best seed and soil products.

The lessons and garden boxes are an extension of Mason’s Grade 11 Propel project. She taught three lessons to more than 180 students in kindergarten to Grade 3. Mason used the information she gleaned from the students to write and illustrate a children’s book titled The Circle of Climate Change: We Can Help!.

Mason has long been interested in working with children. When she was in grades 8 and 9, she volunteered her time helping in K-3 classes.

“I just really enjoyed being around the kids between six and eight years old,” Mason says. “I find they’re so creative and have so many great ideas. It inspires me, too.”

Mason is “unrelenting in her ambition,” says Patrick Hansen, Propel program teacher.

“She’s a hard student to describe because she’s so good at so many different things,” Hansen says. “She has this intrinsic drive to help others, and I think that’s where she gets all (her) energy from.”

Mason is thankful to the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, which gave her a $1,000 grant for her current project, as well as McMunn & Yates Building Supplies for donating materials and the staff at Buddies Yard Care, who donated their time delivering the garden boxes.

She also expresses her gratitude to Hansen.

“He does an amazing job running the Propel program. It really wouldn’t be what it is without him.”

Mason, who enjoys making art, synchronized swimming and spending time at her family’s cottage, plans to study sciences at the University of Manitoba. She’s interested in pursuing a career in engineering, education or medicine.

Meantime, she is thrilled the boxes have been delivered and students will have the chance to garden.

“My favourite thing is going into the classes and watching how excited the students get about planting and the lessons,” Mason says. “I just really love seeing that.”

Learn more about Mason, her book and her current project at alexandramason.net.

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Aaron Epp

Aaron Epp
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Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron.

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