Outdoor Revitalization Project

The Elm Creek school team is creating a new outdoor learning and play spaces on our existing school grounds in order to improve the overall mental health and well-being of our school community. The school yard design will include a new outdoor learning space for the early years classes, a new outdoor classroom for the senior years student population, revitalized school garden area, outdoor seating and lounge spaces, fire pit/gathering space, and new beach volleyball courts. We hope to maximize our outdoor space in order to complement our indoor space and relieve the space constraints we are currently experiencing with our fast-growing school population. As well, we want to incorporate natural elements into our design in order to gain the mental health benefits that come with spending time outdoors. We plan to root our new spaces in a deep connection to the land, and include Indigenous design aspects and teachings wherever possible. We are happy to have formed partnerships with community members, Little Bluestem Landscape Architecture Firm and Lacoste Garden Centre to make this feasible. This project is a 3 year endeavor, aiming for completion in the 2023-2024 school year.

This project is lead by Jackie DeVries, Ashley Cook and Jesse Thomaschewski. Our team also includes other classroom teachers work with elders/knowledge keepers and consultation with divisional team members. As development of these spaces continue, we plan is to include students in the design and implementation stages of our project, and to offer credit opportunities to students wherever possible (3D Design, Woodworking, Art, Indigenous Education, Education for Sustainable Development, etc.).

We will continue to collaborate with current programs and initiatives offered at Elm Creek, including our volleyball academy, project-based learning program (STRIVE: Self Taught Real-World Independent Valuable Experience), UNESCO, Green Crew (Little Green Thumbs Program), Cobra Youth Spirit Committee.

Please contact our office with any inquiries about these up and coming spaces.