The 2011 Aviva Canada Community Fund winners have been announced and Holyrood School’s Courtyard Classroom project is one of the winners. It is one of 12 winners that will share a $1 million prize.
Holyrood School is an Edmonton elementary school which caters to students from Kindergarten to Grade Six. The courtyard classroom has been in planning since 2006 and the school has already won several awards to help with funding. The classroom will be used by “the students, a local senior's centre, an extended care facility and group home.” The courtyard, which was formerly a parking lot, will feature vegetable gardens, native shrubs, trees, benches built by a nearby senior’s centre, three weather stations, a fossil garden, a tipi, a mosaic art bench build in memory of a deceased student, accessible pathways and winter garden features. It will provide a learning opportunity for the entire local community.
The environment is on everyone’s minds these days and projects such as the courtyard classroom go a long way in educating our children about nature, growing our own food and maintaining a vegetable garden. Many organizations in Edmonton, including printing companies, charities, governments, and community groups have policies in place that include environmentally friendly practices; this can include vegetable based inks used in printing, having a recycling program in place, promoting less waste of paper and even growing your own vegetables in a garden. Every little bit really does help to reduce waste and facilities such as the Courtyard Classroom will go a long way in educating the community.
