Green School

Get comfortable because it is a long trip out west to the University Of Alberta Botanic Garden. If we were travelling on wheels, we might choose to use the Yellowhead, but since this is my magic carpet, I am taking you along the North Saskatchewan River. It feels just right to let those winding curves lead us south and west. Once we spot two golf courses along the south bank, we leave the river behind and head straight west. The mission of the University of Alberta Botanic Garden is to inspire connections between plants and people through curated collections, innovative education, research, conservation and experiences. My personal favorite spot is the Kurimoto Japanese Garden, particularly when the irises are in bloom. But my hands down favorite activity there is tramping through the trees with Deb leading one of her Green School classes. 

Green School receives funding from the Edmonton Community Foundation . 

The Garden is currently closed to visitors for the winter season. They are working on a plan so visitors might be able to enjoy the outdoor gardens this year, within Alberta Health Services guidelines, and with the safety of the public paramount in planning. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Garden’s 2020 calendar of activities.

I caught up to Deb by phone at her home. Deb Greiner’s path to Inquiring Minds was as winding as the river. After university where she earned her teacher certification, she taught music and other things (as music teachers do) just outside Edmonton. When she became a mom, she took a break from that kind of paid education work, instead teaching piano and doing an assortment of volunteer activities. By 2010 she was ready to come back to the classroom but was not having much luck as she made the rounds. On a trip that took her out to Graminia Road, she stopped by the Garden as an after-thought and dropped off a resume. Soon she found herself working in their day programs. She observed and admired Green School. In the fall of 2011, she was asked to cover the role of Green School Coordinator. It fit her like a comfortable old garden glove and with all the experiential activities in the outdoors, the pieces of her passion and educational approach came together.

Deb thinks some teachers worry about the ability of children to spend most of the 5 days on her site outdoors. She sees being outside as an advantage and says there is a simplicity to being with kids in the open air. I admit I stole one of my best going outside with kids lines from Deb. “There is no such thing as bad weather, just poorly dressed people.”

The day we talked, there was a fresh white blanket of snow (in April, sigh) and Deb shared that she loves these spring snow days with kids.  “They find little tiny insects on the snow,” she recounts “and that gives me the chance to reward observation skills, talk about snow fleas, micro elements, and what good eyes they have.”

The Inquiring Minds website describes Green School this way:

The vision of Green School is to enable every child and teacher to develop an appreciation for the natural world. Immersion in the community of the University of Alberta Botanic Garden (plants and trees, animals, birds, wetlands, and people) allows for authentic learning experiences and for developing observational skills using journals.  This creates the potential for activities where the curriculum lives and encourages undertakings, which go beyond the week at the Garden, inspiring hope in hearts and minds to live and learn well.

Look at the Green School webpage. https://botanicgarden.ualberta.ca/programs-courses/green-school/

Do you want to know more? Contact Deb at uabg.greenschool@ualberta.ca 

You can start your application process at the Inquiring Minds website. https://ourinquiringminds.wordpress.com/application/