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/
