Lord Nelson kids bring lessons home

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This article was published 22/04/2014 (4364 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earth Day (April 22) has passed, but at Lord Nelson School every day is Earth Day.

Lord Nelson won the Education for Sustainability Award at the 2013 Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Awards.

Presented by the Manitoba Round Table for Sustainable Development, the awards were handed out on March 17 at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Lord Nelson was recognized for such school projects as a recycling/composting Green Team, a Human Rights Club, its contributions to Winnipeg Harvest and an outdoor classroom, the latter of which started in 2008.

“The outdoor classroom spans the entire front yard of our school, so basically it has transformed a boring greenspace that wasn’t utilized into a living breathing classroom,” said Monique Russell, a Grade 4 teacher at Lord Nelson and a member of the school’s education for sustainable development (ESD) team.

“It’s based on Manitoba’s native habitats, so we have the boreal forest, a butterfly garden, a tall grass prairie, a mixed prairie and a parklands area. There are over 400 indigenous plants. They’re native to Manitoba, which makes them heartier and able to sustain themselves in our weather conditions. It’s all connected with paving stone pathways to a central area where there is a medicine wheel. Sandblasted into the paving stone are the seven sacred teachings.”

Russell said the next step for the outdoor classroom is the installation of picnic tables around the medicine wheel to provide a meeting place for students and families.

Russell said Lord Nelson students are taking their sustainability knowledge and practices home with them.

“They’re constantly coming back to school saying things like ‘Instead of using plastic bags we’re using our canvas bags’ or ‘I’m working with my parents when we go shopping to try and have a litterless lunch at school,’” Russell said.

“We’ve been learning a lot about energy and water conservation, and they’ve been taking those tips, tricks and true facts home to share with their families and get the whole family on board.”

Russell said Lord Nelson will hold an education for sustainable development symposium on Thurs., May 15 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event will include an Empty Bowls fundraiser for Winnipeg Harvest, as well as interactive displays from local environmental organizations.

Lord Nelson vice-principal Amy Karlinsky said she’s proud of her students and the ESD team.

“It’s amazing to see Grade 4 students, the Green Team, give up some of their lunch time to go around recycling, go around composting,” Karlinsky said.

“To be composting in -40, feeding the garden, they walk the walk and talk the talk at this school.”