This year, division 8 has undertaken a project that started with the question “how can we make our forest more accessible for our community?” This began a long inquiry process into who owns the land, what community resources we can pull from, and what there is in the forest! 

We found out some very interesting information including the fact that there had previously been a house on the land before it was bought by the city. We also found out that originally, our school was planning on building a track on the forested area that neighbours our school ground. 

Some of the most interesting information that we found out is that the forest is overrun with invasive species. We researched these species and we invited community members to teach us how to remove those species to make room for native species to regrow. We have since begun removing species and creating a clearing in which we hope to have a learning space. This will be a gathering area for classes to share what they are learning in the forested area. The potential topics range from habitats, language arts, social studies and physical education.

Click here to learn more about their journey: La forêt Sperling

  • Sylvie Godel, Sperling Elementary