Rain or Shine, FVC Youth Stewards in Action

FVC Youth Stewards update: Rick Hansen Science 10 Honours Students and Scouts Service Project

June was a busy month for the Fraser Valley Conservancy’s Youth Stewards Program, as we wrapped up yet another school year and celebrated the start of summer. But, our work wasn’t over yet- due to generous funding from the Wal-Mart Evergreen Green Grants Program, we were able to deliver two projects that helped us fulfill our goal of increasing youth participation in environmental stewardship activities.

On June 7th, 2012 we braved the rain and ventured out to Abbotsford’s Ellwood Park with the Science 10 Honours class from Rick Hansen Secondary School. These students were learning about basic ecological concepts and building species identification skills in their class, so we wanted to ensure that they gained some valuable hands-on learning experience in a field environment. The students divided into groups of six and surveyed a section of the park that was of interest to them. Using field guides, they worked together to identify the flora and fauna in the area. This was a great, learning-filled day as we were able to teach the students more about native and invasive species, and how humans influence the ecosystems around them.

On June 16th, 2012, we teamed up with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Abbotsford Boy Scouts Groups to build and install bird houses at the Edenvale Community Garden (which also happens to be our new office location!) Together, we installed 25 boxes which were made from Red Cedar, and will be used by the many swallows, chickadees and nuthatches that inhabit the area. We’d like to say a special thank-you to Mr. Bill Mason at Rick Hansen Secondary School, who helped us cut out all the pieces for the bird houses. After the boxes were assembled and installed, the Boy Scouts helped plant some potatoes in the community garden. These organically grown potatoes will be harvested and donated to the Abbotsford Food Bank this fall. We were so excited to collaborate with the Edenvale Community Garden Centre for this project, because like us, the centre promotes practices that are sustainable for both the land, and the people using it. This was an amazing service project, and we had a wonderful time working with the Scouts to make the planet a better place to learn, live, and grow.