A new project to engage younger people in the International Peace Garden has already brought in students from Boissevain School.
The Grade 9 and 10 Metal Works class has been working on story boxes to be used in the beds at the Garden. Tim Chapman, CEO of the Peace Garden, said this year they were looking to grab young people at the border attraction.
“We really wanted to make the summer engaging for all ages this summer,” Chapman explained. “We wanted to put something at or near the various flower beds, and being able to partner with Boissevain School really fits what we wanted to do. We wanted students, parents and everyone to see what the students did when they visited.”
Chapman said Education and Volunteer Coordinator Deb McCallum reached out to the school with an idea of having them involved. The horticulture team put together stronger plans of what the beds would look like, and then everything took more definite shape. The idea is for story boxes to be filled with books and placed at the different flowerbeds.
Chapman said they are trying to promote children’s reading as a theme this year, so the story boxes fit. There will be different levels featured. For younger ages, books found will include Clifford, The Cat in the Hat or Curious George. For older readers, they are planning on having Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter books, hopefully the whole series. Other books might feature nature topics, which is something the Peace Garden highlights.
“There will be a good variety of themes and topics.”
The kids can take out the books to read while they are visiting that spot in the garden. Obviously the larger chapter books will not be completed during their stay, but the lighter youth books could be, and this could make a nice family moment.
The books are coming from donors and supporters who have been going to their Amazon list to donate. Chapman said the response has been very good to this initiative.
As well, they are planning to have a Story Stroll by the play structure recently added by the Conservatory. They received a grant, with the plan to use the book “Walking Together” by Elder Dr. Albert D. Marshall and Louise Zimanyl. It follows a group of children connecting to nature, and explains the Indigenous concept of Two-eyed Seeing. There will be 12 stations, with a couple of pages of the book in each, to serve as a learning tour in their animal themed playground. Although this project will only last for 2024, the hardware used will stay in the ground, possibly for use with another theme in the future.
The Peace Garden is also inviting local libraries to come out this year during their regular story times, to check out the area, to combine reading with what the Garden has to offer.
Chapman and McCallum visited Boissevain School to connect with the students about the project on Thursday, May 2. Prior to the visit, the CEO said he felt the class was getting close to completing the boxes. The hope was they would be able to get them into the ground at the various beds in the next few weeks. They are not in too much of a hurry as the flower displays are not normally in full bloom until later in the summer, but there are people in the local area that visit early to see the seasonal changes. They would like to have them up for those people to look at while the beds develop.
Wood and supplies for the project were donated by Goodon Industries and the Boundary Co-op. Chapman gave credit to Principal Landon White for his efforts in promoting the story box idea. Chapman thinks it is great that the students in Boissevain are able to help out, and wants them to know they are assisting young people catching the reading bug in both their home community and others wherever the Garden attracts visitors. This kind of connection with schools and communities on both sides of the border is exactly what they want.
“Hopefully, this snowballs,” he stated. “We hope other schools see the opportunity to engage in a variety of ways.”
“This is one idea of many. There is never a shortage of things we can do with students.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff