Whyte Ridge schools celebrate Canada’s 150th

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/06/2017 (3207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Students at Whyte Ridge Elementary and Henry G. Izatt Middle schools have been participating in activities over the past few months in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, culminating in a major event organized by the Pembina Trails School Division at Investors Group Field on May 24.

As part of the Pembina Trails Canada 150 Project, schools in the division have been learning about three important aspects of Canada — diversity and inclusion, environment and sustainable development, and reconciliation of indigenous and non-indigenous people.  

Environmental sustainability was a theme for both Whyte Ridge schools, which assembled books of pledges in which students made personal commitments to activities that will help to make Canada a better place, such as using less water, planting trees and fundraising for environmental organizations.  

Izatt students worked on a sustainable community garden containing drought-resistant prairie plants and native trees to facilitate student learning about organic and sustainable garden practices with a focus on important issues such as native plant/bee-pollinator species, water conservation, and composting.

Key elements of the garden project included a prairie plant and decorated stepping stone developed by each classroom. These were placed in a trailer/portable float, which also included soil and trees, and transported to the event at Investors Group Field for the May 24 event. Whyte Ridge Elementary students developed a water-themed float using recycled materials, including waves and images of places where water is an important resource.

The May 24 event began with a division-wide relay along a 34-kilometre segment of the Trans Canada Trail, with Whyte Ridge students running the length of  trail that passes through our neighbourhood.

The relay ended at Investors Group Field, where the HGI and WRE floats joined 32 others developed by each school in the division.

The event also included a 2,400-piece student band performing O Canada, performances by the Aboriginal School of Dance and Peaceful Village Team, a 15,000-person living flag that encompassed the entire lower bowl of the stadium, inspirational speeches by Manitoba Lt. Gov. Janice C. Filmon and Indigenous youth advocate Michael Champagne, and a viewing of the massive composite book of pledges, representing all students in the division.

Nick Barnes is a community correspondent for Whyte Ridge.