Elder John Sinclair speaks at the opening of an outdoor learning area and Indigenous Gardens at Oriole Park Elementary in Red Deer, as the Alberta, Canada and Treaty 6 flags fly in the background, on June 14, 2023. (Paige Koster Photography)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

a space to grasp knowledge

Oriole Park Elementary opens Outdoor Learning and Indigenous Gardens

Jun 14, 2023 | 3:48 PM

For the last two years, Oriole Park Elementary has been raising money for a project they formally opened on Wednesday, on the school property’s southwest corner.

The Oriole Park Outdoor Learning and Indigenous Gardens will be a home away from home, of sorts, for students to learn their regular lessons, but also about the vitality and sacredness of the land.

The idea for it came about after Oriole Park won the grand prize in the Queen Jubilee Classroom Challenge, which saw them create a garden at the Capstone Common Ground garden project.

Grade 4 students involved in that project wanted to create something similar at the school — which goes up to Grade 5 — and the rest is history.

About $10,000 has been raised through various initiatives, namely the school’s yearly Math-a-thon, with those funds purchasing materials such as wood for garden boxes, as well as dirt and plants. That doesn’t includes in-kind donations from Gilmar Construction, Knelsen, and Creative Concrete Labour, which built the Medicine Wheel structure in the garden’s centre.

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“What they’re going to learn by utilizing this garden is to respect the land, and to respect Canadian heritage in terms of understanding Indigenous people and what they’ve gone through. As well, they’ll learn about collaboration and teamwork when gardening,” Principal Lori Irvine said at the grand opening.

“Truth and Reconciliation are embedded in the curriculum, from Kindergarten all the way up, so it’s important we honour and respect that. There are many fun activities we can do with this garden which will help them embrace Indigenous heritage.”

About 380 Oriole Park Elementary students helped officially open the school’s new outdoor learning area and Indigenous Gardens on June 14, 2023. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Part of the outdoor assembly, which featured the school’s entire student body of about 380, plus staff, was a prayer, blessing and song from Elder John Sinclair, who works with the Red Deer Native Friendship Society.

Meantime, Hayley Christen, Red Deer Public Schools’ Coordinator of Learning Services, First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI), says that the space having Indigenous elements is important for all students, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

“This garden is a perfect place for them to learn because of all the Indigenous teachings which come from the land. It’s also a great place to learn about some of the plants indigenous to this area — not just sage and sweetgrass, but they have saskatoon bushes here, as well as blueberries and strawberries, among others,” she says.

“In terms of this age group learning about Indigenous subjects, they love it. It’s just part of what they all learn now. The amount of knowledge the young children have is vast compared to adults my age and older who didn’t get opportunities to learn about the true history of Canada and teachings of the land when we went to school. These lessons are interwoven into so many parts of their school.”

Another $10,000 is still to be raised to fence the garden in completely (mainly to keep animals away), and to install signage outlining the Seven Grandfather Teachings.

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