Author: StephanieLarson

Something that I didn’t realize until recently is that since being part of this internship I am always tuned in.

Let me break that down a little because that is such a broad term! What I mean is that with all the research and background knowledge we are learning, I am turning that lens on the world around me. I find that I am observing the community around me, taking in what spaces there are for children, how they are able to navigate the area. I am even tuning into the radio more to see if more people are talking about child-friendly cities.

This morning I just happened to stubble upon the radio host interviewing someone from Mind and Soil (you can find them on instagram @mindandsoil) and they were discussing the benefits of children looking after plants. One thing that caught my attention was that having children take care of a plant, no matter the outcome of it, that they form empathy for the plant. They become invested in the plants growth, life, and taking care of it. I hadn’t thought of having a child take care of a plant could translate into something even larger outside of the school setting like that.

Just something to think about, make sure you keep yourself open, your ears open while you are out in the community, listening to the radio, or t.v., you never know when you could stumble upon something that could help you change the spaces in your communities. AND listen to the children in your life, they have some cool ideas of how to transform the world around them to make it better for them.

For now, I am going to keep ‘tuning in’ and being open to the information around me that could help influence my community to make changes.

– Stephanie

While it has taken me a little bit I finally got a drawing of my neighbourhood. As you can see the neighbourhood that I live in offers very little of a play space for children. We have the trains going by, that are loud, which could drive kids to not want to play outside, but also with two major roadways make it not the safest area for children to be outside in this area.

Though not all is lost for this neighbourhood. There is a small park that has some green space, as well as trees that do line the street. And if you take about a 10-15 minute walk from here you are immersed in a forest area along the river. There is also a larger park area and green space that is along the trail at the river as well. So, while my neighbourhood isn’t geared towards children with a little bit of a walk you can reach some awesome green space and parks for children.

If I could change something in my neighbourhood to make it more child-friendly, I would see what the children of the neighbourhood wanted to see. Maybe that means shutting the street down for block parties or street hockey. Maybe that looks like a communal library box, or bulletin board to share their creations they made in their yards. All of these things could possibly lead to more neighbourhood connections and friendships made, which would fuel the inspiration we are seeing with the children of the neighbourhood.

Hopefully when other educators have their classes draw maps of their neighbourhoods they can identify the areas that are the best for them, or what they could change. Maybe it leads to something that they can add to their letters they write to their local government. Drawing a map of your neighbourhood can bring light to so many new ideas.

Have fun, get creative and keep checking back to see what else we are doing.

– Stephanie

In a world where going green is the most common thing, what can we do to bring this aspect into the classroom.

This is just one of many questions we have been asking ourselves as we begin to create curriculum for our modules. Something that I have been passionate about and been involved in since I was a child has been gardening. Thank’s to my mom who is a horticulturist I have learned A LOT! That doesn’t mean I am a pro at it, I still have my non-green thumb moments, sorry houseplants…but it is always a learning process and sometimes you have to experiment.

After some discussion with my mom (she has more knowledge than I do, don’t be afraid to ask for help) I discovered that we needed to make sure that the plants we chose to include can be grown in both Abbotsford and Chandigarh climates. Make sure to check out the module for a fun way to research the climates in both locations and the reasons behind why some plants can grow only in certain places.

I have done a bit a research, connected with my sources (my mom) and come up with a plan. Now most schools may not have the resources or time to have a school community garden, but if you do it is an excellent teaching opportunity about resources, growth, and sustainability. Having a community garden or even a classroom window garden you can use it to cross multi disciplines: science, math, and english! Not to mention the TASTE TESTING!! I think this last piece is just as important as the rest, have the students taste what they have grown. From experience what you grow tastes 10x better than store bought. And depending how big your garden is you could donate the food you grow to your school meal program. How cool is that! Check out the Food, Garden, Life Podcast “Teaching Life Skills in a Garden Classroom” located on our podcast page.

Keep your eyes out for some awesome, interactive, and mind blowing curriculum coming soon!

– Stephanie

Photo Credit: John Boitnott. "4 Reasons Why Going Green Has Gone Mainstream in Business". Inc. May 27, 2015. https://www.inc.com/john-boitnott/4-reasons-why-going-green-has-gone-mainstream-in-business.html