To the Editor,
Re: Plan advises closure of four area schools, June 16.
The school district is to be applauded for granting eco-school status to Departure Bay Elementary School, but in the latest facilities plan it recommends closing the school.
A critical component for a school to engage and inspire student learning about nature is location. Departure Bay has a salmon-bearing stream, a local woodland and an intertidal zone all within 200 metres of its front door. Community stakeholders have created a plan that could see many progressive and paradigm-shifting initiatives developed on the school site. An eco-school needs abundant natural resources close by to reach its potential. In my opinion this location is the best in the district for such a program. Regarding the capacity issue I would say, “if you build it they will come.”
Gordon GrahamNanaimo
