École Riverview School planting new roots
Outdoor learning space incorporating Aboriginal themes, nature based teachings
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This article was published 08/07/2015 (3939 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The grounds at École Riverview School are being transformed into an Aboriginal-influenced outdoor learning space this summer.
Ground was broken on June 30 for the new $130,000 outdoor classroom with a special ceremony and tobacco offering by the Winnipeg School Division’s Aboriginal education department and elder Florence Paynter.
“When you come back you will see the beauty of this special learning place,” Paynter told the students gathered for the ceremony on their last day of classes.
During the ceremony, Paynter also thanked and acknowledged Mother Earth for the land and acknowledged the École Riverview School Parent Advisory Council (ERSPAC) for a plan that recognizes Aboriginal culture.
The outdoor learning space, designed by Liz Wreford Taylor of Plain Projects, will incorporate indigenous elements such as a giant turtle petroform gathering space, a medicine wheel, and the Seven Teachings. The space also emphasizes nature based learning through the use of native plant species and a 10-foot tall water cistern and series of troughs.
“Water was a really important element in the project,” Wreford Taylor said.
The new cistern will collect rain water from the school’s roof where it will be stored for use by teachers and students to study the water cycle.
“They’ll be able to open it and the water will go through a series of troughs and into an infiltration area. The idea is that it will mostly soak into the ground instead of just running off as it has been,” she said.
“It’s an educational opportunity for the kids to interact with water.”
Aboriginal education consultant Marsha Missyabit also described the new classroom as a space to confront prejudice and racism in schools and for all to learn the lessons of Mother Earth.
“We want to create a sacred space where everyone will be welcome,” Missyabit said.
ERSPAC members Sonya Jantz, Matthew Lawrence, Rhian Christie, and Colin Joyal have been working on the project for nearly two years and raised the $130,000 needed to get the project going through grants from the city and province as well as local fundraisers.
According to Jantz, the idea for an outdoor classroom came from the environmental sustainability committee that developed as part of parent council.
“Out of that came a discussion of the need for an outdoor learning space at the school,” Jantz said. “And it’s become a fad — there are actually a lot of schools that are doing this.”
The outdoor learning space will accommodate students with different learning styles and create new opportunities for students to interact with their surroundings, Jantz said.
“A lot of kids need to be outside and need movement and the opportunity to engage in their environment in different ways.
“The outdoor learning space is an opportunity to explore their world in a different way,” she said.
The outdoor learning space is located on the east side of the school’s gym and is bounded by Maplewood Avenue and the soccer field. It will be under construction over the summer and is expected to be finished by September.
