Wayoata School adds more trees

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This article was published 03/07/2018 (2683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Park City keeps getting greener.Thanks to a grant from Tree Canada, Wayoata School (605 Wayoata St.) in Transcona added four more trees to its outdoor play area.

The trees — two mountain ash and two elm — were officially unveiled on June 20, with a ribbon cutting and a school assembly, where a story and song were performed by students following a presentation.

“The students have been making houses for cankerworms and tent caterpillars with the wood chips,” said Christine Frank, a former teacher at the school and chair of Wayoata School greening committee. “They are amazing creations providing opportunities for discussions on insects as pests or pets.”

In September 2017, the school completed a major $200,000 overhaul of their playground. Maple, aspen, spruce, pine and tamarack trees were throughout the yard. A couple berms were added on either end of the soccer pitch, while drainage was improved in an area where water tended to pool, and a gravel and sand pit added, which has been a huge hit with students.

“I think the value in naturalizing the playground has been the incidental and experimental  learning, and the creative play that has occurred,” Frank said.

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The project, which is ongoing, began in 2012. Funding for the project has come from the province’s Community Places program, the City of Winnipeg’s community incentive grant program, Tree Canada and a Canada 150 grant. Private donors include The Winnipeg Foundation, TD Friends of the Environment, Toyota Evergreen, Manitoba Hydro, the Co-op Federation, Wyatt Dowling Insurance, Staples, and Border Chemical. 

The school also raised its own funds through bake sales, pizza lunches, and donations from parents and family members of students.

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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