St. George’s Dragon Meadow is a Peace Garden, a pollinator, and a place where communities celebrate wellness – one breath, bud, or bee at a time.
We Know What We Want – Now to Make It Happen
St George educators and administrators knew what they wanted to accomplish – a peaceful place in nature where students and staff could rejuvenate and reflect – but they needed help figuring out how to get there. So just like they tell their students, they “used their resources.”
Speak to the Experts
Their first step was to connect with OCSB consultants and experts in the field, including Indigenous knowledge keepers, beekeepers, and those working in botanical gardens, and this was all before a shovel ever went into the ground.
Learn from Indigenous Leaders
While St George staff wanted to provide students with a place to take a breath and get their bearings, they also were to determined to create a place where students could reflect on Truth Reconciliation, so they connected with local Indigenous leaders to learn more about Grandfather Teachings, with every grade level focusing on one of the seven teachings.
All Hands on Deck
Each grade had a job to do. While partnering with Algonquin College, students and educators began researching pollinators and pollinator gardens. Students and educators were in-serviced on Tinkercad so that students could design a 3D pollinator!
Meantime, other classes were researching native plants for pollinators and using Minecraft Education to develop a pollinator garden to scale incorporating native plants. And even after all that, students had to start again when they found a drainage issue. Yet, students never gave up on the project. They just let the learning begin again and again!
Raising Funds
Despite all their good intentions, it soon became clear they needed additional revenue to make the Dragon Meadow a reality! That is where the OCSB Social Entrepreneurs Program (SEP) came in. Their SEP efforts paid off, and over $1400 was raised!
Let Your Garden Grow
And inch by inch, row by row, their garden started to grow. The Dragon Meadow was successful, thanks to seedlings from Kindergarten plant towers to full-grown milkweed.
Project Complete
With the help of high school wood shop students, wooden plaques were designed and placed at reflection points along the path to represent the Grandfather Teachers and allow mindfulness.