Embedded Files
Our year 2 (2020) student Abby Schneider wrote an introductory article for the London Review (Published February 14, 2020).
DAY 1, year 1 (2019)
We had a great start to the program today. Everyone really enjoyed listening to Bill Hill this morning and learning from his stories. Our morning hike also went really well. Although the trail was very icy and slippery and the weather was a bit cold, everyone enjoyed the walk and we got to see really interesting things along the way. Attached are a few pictures from our hike this morning.
After lunch we went through the overview of the Grade 5 curriculum in small groups and then as a class we shared ideas on the different activities we can do to connect each subject (Math, Science, Social Studies, PhysEd, Language, Arts) with the environment. We also discussed the opportunities and potential challenges of working with Grade 5’s with Dan Arppe to prepare for our first Google Hangout with the Grade 5 classes.
Overall, our day flowed very well and was a great start to the program.
Thanks! Nour Mohamed
Day 2
Where do I begin?! Well, let’s start at the beginning. Today, I arrived at “school” and chatted with a few friends as well as enjoyed the icy winter wonderland view from the portable window.
Class began with two environmentalists named Cole and Brandon, who came in to talk about the beautiful forests and ecosystems around us. Additionally, they talked about safety when being in forests, history of the Westminster Ponds, and some tidbits of information. I found it incredibly interesting that we have many invasive species around us that are a great threat to our environment, here at Westminster Ponds. Such as Giant Hogweed, Dog Strangling Vine and Buckthorn.
Moreover, we took a short hike to one of the ponds (more specifically the Saunders Pond) and we took in the mystical view of the ice covered trees and pond around us. Afterwards, we travelled back to the portable to warm up and take a lunch break!
During lunch, my friends and I laughed a lot and enjoyed each other’s company. The students here at HELP are all so unique and welcoming. I know if it weren’t for these amazing students, I wouldn’t enjoy HELP half as much!
After wrapping up lunch, we began talking about the Stream of Dreams that we are going to participate in tomorrow, (which, I cannot wait for!) and about creating infographics/iMovies for our Grade 5 students that will be joining us in a few weeks.
For the last minutes of the day, we all wrote a short reflection of our thoughts about the course so far, and enjoyed Mrs. Trampleasure’s delicious pumpkin spice loaf!
From there, all I can say is the day ended very well, and I am looking forward to many more hikes and new projects coming up! Anyways, that’s all from me! Thanks for taking the time to read my perspective of what happened today!
Avery Bird
DAY 3
On Friday, we went to Wilfrid Jury PS to help with the Stream Of Dreams day. We were working with grade ones and twos, and we had a schedule of when to rotate our jobs.
When we got there we watched the first Stream Talk presentation as a group. Then, we separated into groups. Some people went to help the younger students paint their fishes. The others were grouped with two students, and we participated in the presentation together. While the students had lunch, we got pizza, and we had a little break.
The schedule allowed us to work with different groups of students. The students seemed like they enjoyed the Stream Talk, especially the natural vs man made surfaces demonstration. The presentation needed a lot of audience volunteers, which kept the kids involved. Most of the kids enjoyed painting their fishes, and they were very eager to talk to us about their fish! We could also encourage the kids to actively listen and participate during the activities. I thought it was a great day, and a great experience. I thought that it was a great idea, and good practice for working with the grade 5s later in February. I really enjoyed it, and I would like to do it again sometime.
Nate McCormack
The first thing we had this morning was a visit by Mrs. Killian (our school board's Secondary Literacy Coordinator). It was about the Literacy Test in March. We went through what the test entailed and how we could prepare for it. Then she read us a few passages from two different books, "The Marrow Thieves" and "Refugees" to help us get a taste of new books that we might like. We were also able to enjoy some delicious cookies courtesy of Mrs. Killian!
After lunch, we went on a hike. It was quite chilly with the wind, but thankfully not as slippery as other days. We took pictures of the different safety features on the trails. We saw lots of evidence of animals, such as rabbit, deer, and raccoon tracks. After we got back we finished up working on our infographics/imovies that we will share with our grade 5 visitors. My group worked on an infographic to show grade 5's when they come. It will introduce them to Westminster Ponds.
All in all, it was a very fun day!
Emily Black
HELP Parents / Students; (From Ms Trampleasure)
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for an excellent start up over our first two busy weeks. Between inclement weather and technology set-up, there have been some minor speed bumps, but all have been handled in step by students and staff alike. I am amazed at how quickly we are coming together as a team and I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.
I am sure you have been hearing tidbits here and there about our daily activities. We have actually packed a tremendous amount into the past two 'partial' weeks and I thought I would take a moment to summarize some of these.
Full day events
- Stream of Dreams - Wilfrid Jury Elementary School
- EcoSchool Super Conference - Toronto
1/2 day events
- Western Ontario Fish and Game Wildlife Protective Association) Stan, Steve, Laurence We met these gentlemen to gain a history of the organization as Canada's oldest Conservation Organization & learn from our neighbour.
Guest visitors / Professional Contacts
- Bill Hill - Smudging and Welcoming Circle - Biigajiiskaan - Rotting Roots
- Brandon Williamson & Cole (Management Team) Upper Thames River Conservation Authority - Environmentally Significant Areas, site details, history of the ponds and geological significance,Trail Safety
- Adria Killian (Secondary Literacy Coordinator - OSSLT )
Student Driven Curriculum Event Planning
- Dan Arppe - facilitating us through the planning and implementation of our prgoramming for Grade 5 outdoor activities 2 full days
Hikes ...
- We have managed about 3 really good property hikes now - though we have only covered about 1/2 of the full property, as we get into a solid routine these will likely become more involved and include themes or challenges according to the work we are completing within the Leadership, Careers, Civics, Literacy and Phys Ed curriculum.
- Snowshoeing - one amazing afternoon on the shoes so far - fingers crossed for many more!
Content
- various team building
- SEL (Social Emotional Literacy) - While I have not introduced this acronym just yet we have been been digging into values and attributes of strong teams in terms of communication skills with heavy emphasis on listening and being empathetic. Understanding the whole story of the individuals we are working with, and learning how to communicate well with each other and the diverse group of community partners we will be working with.
- Novel - Alone Lost Against the North - Adam Shoalts (Canadian Author who will be visiting us later this semester) This novel was introduced this afternoon, much of it will be covered within the class, but some students requested to take it home.
Resources
- We now have a small fridge and a microwave in our portable, which is very handy for us especially when we convert into a lunch room. This will expand some of our opportunities for sharing also in community meals .Today I brought in some chili that was well timed to follow a very chilly but beautiful hike!
- Teenagers eat tons .... occasionally a few kids have forgotten lunches and or have run out of food. I have some extras here, but if you feel as though you can contribute, healthy snacks are always welcome.
Upcoming Events
- Please confirm with us if you are able to attend the Saturday March 2nd New Arrivals Visit to Westminster Ponds - we are planning to have some Syrian families come to enjoy the Ponds on March 2 likely between 10:00 and 2:00.
- Ongoing Grade 5 visits - to begin in 2 weeks
- Guest Speakers Series - UTRCA, Middlesex London Health Unit, Parkwood, Drug Enforcement ...
Photos courtesy of Drew Macklin
Day 6
Toronto, it's a giant concrete jungle. A mess of roads and communities that over 2.732 million people call home. However, on February 14th it was also the place of the Super Conference, where we got the chance to listen to two amazing people share their stories.
Slater Jewell-Kemker is a youth filmmaker and environmental activist with an important message-- HELP students requested an interview with Slater following her opening Keynote address to learn more about her passion as an environmental advocate. She further explained the intention behind her words; leaders of our world live in the moment being on their own planet. She explained that the leaders are only bothered about their immediate future, not the future that the young people of the earth will inherit eventually. Slater's main points were that we can't wait to make changes, this is a critical time in our lives where we must do something to stop our earth from getting worse.
Our second interview was Norma Jacobs, she is "Gaehohwako," Wolf Clan of the Cayuga Nation of the Haudenosaunee. She is from the Iroquois Confederacy of the Grand River Territory, Six Nations. Her mother went to a residential school and her father was a labourer. As an Elder, Norma welcomed attendees and expressed her gratitude with the Mother Earth, her resources, organizers of the event and those who work to care for the environment. Elder Jacobs went on to explain how if we did nothing, then we would end up nothing, she explained that the earth is balanced and climate change is disrupting the balance. She stressed the fact that we need to do something now so that we can actually end up with a livable world tomorrow and the days to come. When interviewed Norma stressed the fact that people should come together as a nation and help rebuild our earth back to its former glory.
Alex H
Today was a big day for us. We welcomed Mrs. Bushell’s grade 5 class who participated with our class in a variety of fun activities. We greeted them off the bus with a fun “repeat after me” song helping some to break out of their comfort zone right away, but the day had only begun.
Next, they joined us in our classroom where we shared a bit about ourselves and the area they would be adventuring through. Dan Arppe, an Environmental Educator who is also referred to as “Red Maple”, took us on an imaginary journey beginning on Canada’s west coast as we learned provincial hand shakes to get free timbits. Yes, that’s a real thing. After we were the experts of handshakes, the grade 5 students broke into smaller groups to play some mini icebreaker games with our grade 10 leaders.
The day wasn’t over yet! A hot chocolate volcano exploded forcing us to cross the sweet cocoa river with marshmallows as our only tool. The current was strong, but not strong enough for our grade 5 adventurers and their leaders. With shivers on our toes and frostbite on our nose, we faced the hardest challenge yet, lunch.
After lunch we took a long hike with snowshoes, something new for lots of us, battling the slippery trails to reach our destination far too deep in the woods to be shared. We paused there silently listening to the drops of water, rustling of the branches and the peaceful birds singing. With a very small amount of time left, we were faced to retrace our steps so our guests could catch the bus. As the day’s end approached, we were treated to the majestic sight of a red tailed hawk flying right past our faces waving goodbye to our grade fives and signaling the end of an amazing day.
-Evan H
Today we started our day off with a nice hike to the Salvation Army. At Salvation Army, we helped meal-prep for a free dinner they host by chopping and peeling carrots and potatoes, preparing meat and gravy. Others helped by setting up tables and buttering buns.
After we had our lunch we headed to Parkwood to get our boogie on with some of the Parkwood clients. We did all kinds of dancing, like dancing with ribbons and rice shakers.
The Parkwood clients loved to see us dance. We really got loose and started to be able to not care how we danced, we tried moving faster and slower and feeling the flow of our movements. Some of us really started to break a sweat because we were having so much fun dancing.
-Camryn
This morning I took the class to look for deer. We walked all around the pond and had a great time together. I saw one doe, and Regin saw two. Unfortunately, the rest of the class didn’t get a chance to see them.
I taught the class tracking and stalking skills. The class listened to me when I told them where to stop, or when to be quiet. The class was a lot more attentive to the surroundings and nature. We saw a couple robins and two woodpeckers as a class!
We were out hiking for at least two hours, but we still came back with a lot of energy!
~Ethan
Thursday, March 21st, 2019
Today, Brad and Karlee from Upper Thames came out to our portable to teach us about Hodge's Pond as well as teach us how to brainstorm and create innovative ideas.
We began our morning with getting into small table groups that we'd stay in for the rest of the day. From there, we learned more about Hodge's Pond and the 28 watersheds that are in our area. One of the watersheds being right around Hodge's Pond. Also, we learned about how we need more people to come out and enjoy the beautiful natural sights Hodge's Pond has to offer, and how we can help.
As the day continued, we started to create an idea for how we were going to draw more people out to Hodge's Pond. Evan and I (with the help of Miss M) came up with the idea of building a tree adventure park in Hodge's Pond. We came to this idea through multiple rounds of brainstorming and expanding our ideas together. Furthermore, we began to design our tree adventure park on a big piece of sticky note paper. After sketching and planning you could see our idea come to life! Although our idea may never become a reality, it was still surprisingly fun making a plan for Hodge's Pond and learning new ways to come up with innovative ideas.
At the end of the day, we all pitched our ideas to everyone. Even though it was entirely on the spot and we weren't fully prepared to present to our class, Evan and I did a great job communicating our idea together! I had a lot of fun!
Thank you, Mrs. Trampleasure, Erin and Brad and Karlee for this opportunity to create a fun plan for Hodge's Pond.
That's all from me!
- Avery Bird
Thursday, March 28th, 2019
Today Brandon and Cole from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority came to visit for the third time. They talked to us about community outreach and how projects get started and put into place. Most projects in the ESA’s come from the Master Plan made for that specific area. The Conservation Authority then pitches the ideas they have for the ESA to the City, along with an estimate on the price. The City then decides which projects will happen or not.
After sitting in the portable listening to Brandon and Cole we decided it was time to get outside. Ms.Trampleasure had talked to Brandon and Cole beforehand and set it up that we would get to watch them cut some hazardous dead Ash trees in Westminster Ponds. It was super cool! We got a little lesson on the basics of what they were doing.
After our trip outside it was time for lunch. After lunch, we had to settle into doing some seatwork. We settled in and watched Avery and Ethan's speech at a TVDSB school board meeting; they were both super awesome! We then watched Flipgrids from one of our environmental educators Dan Arppe. Dan gave us some awesome insight into how we are doing with our grade 5 partners, and some ways to improve. This lead to a little bit of planning for our next Tuesday with our Grade 5 Partners. Overall it was an amazing day and I really enjoyed.
-Trista
Today we visited the Geography Department at Western University to learn more about bees and The Pollinator Project that they recently received funding for from the City of London. A community partner recently received a funding of $7,000 to spend on this Pollination Project. They decided to let community members as well as people from the Geography department help with the planning process. We met with Becky who is a Ph.D. candidate in Social Sciences; she is also a beekeeper. She introduced us to the different species of bees and the difference between native and non-native bees, as well as the importance of pollination. We learned how the different species of bees interacted, and she discussed the two locations that they plan on implementing these projects.
One was an Edible Garden and another Plant-based garden. The plant-based garden will be located near a railway which produces a lot of toxic chemicals which can negatively affect the plants making them unsafe to eat. We were separated into four groups, two for each type of garden. We were given chart paper and markers to jot down our design ideas and possible plants we want to have in the gardens. We researched the different types of native flowers, vines, shrubs, and berries. Our day concluded with wrapping up our thoughts and ideas, and we took the city bus back to the portable.
Overall we had a great day and learned a lot about bees and their preferred environment. We look forward to helping to build the pollinator gardens and watching them grow over time.
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