New funding from a national program will create an indigenous garden at Aldergrove Community Secondary School.
ACSS received $2,000 in funding from Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds, a Canada-wide program that helps create inviting, dynamic school grounds with diverse natural features.
The funding will support ACSS’s greening project to create a community-accessible indigenous garden adjacent to the north wing of the school.
This is the first in a multi-phase project that aims to improve a large portion of the currently under-used school grounds bordering 29 Avenue.
The new indigenous garden will give students, present and future, the opportunity to learn about and connect with nature right on their own school grounds.
ACSS’s project will consist of excavating the existing gravelly soil and bringing in high-quality topsoil and mulch, creating gravel paths that will weave throughout the area and connect existing paths with 29 Avenue, and planting a wide array of species that are native to the Aldergrove area.
“We knew we had an opportunity to give our students something special,” says John Pusic, principal of ACSS.
“Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds and Sunrise Toyota generously helped give our students the opportunity to get their hands dirty and learn from nature on our school grounds.”
Toyota has a rich history of respect for people, continuous improvement (or kaizen) and giving in the communities where associates and customers live, work and play.
Since 2000, Toyota Canada and Evergreen have partnered to bring school communities together to transform barren school grounds into healthy, natural and creative outdoor classrooms.
The Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program has reached more than 3,000 schools across Canada providing funding and consulting support. The program connects with schools locally through regional Evergreen consultants and Toyota dealerships across the country.
Benefits of school ground greening projects are many: increased enthusiasm for learning, environmental awareness and stewardship, enhanced motivation for teaching, improved student behaviour, increased physical activity and opportunities for community involvement in school life.
“Respect for the environment is built into Toyota’s core values, and aligning with like-minded partners like Evergreen allows us to share this respect with future generations,” says Seiji Ichii, president and CEO, Toyota Canada Inc.
“Toyota Canada is proud to support the Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program.
Through the program, over 1.4 million Canadian children to-date have learned to respect the environment, and their enthusiasm for nature will ensure a greener world in the future.”
“A learning experience through nature can instill a lifelong sense of stewardship and environmental activism in students,” says Geoff Cape, executive director, Evergreen.
“Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds helps Canadian schools transform lifeless, asphalt yards into green school grounds to give students the opportunity to play and learn in a natural environment.”
