Community Project – Tina & Jason help build an Outdoor Classroom

Some of you have been wondering “where in the world is Tina?”  No, I haven’t been fired from Isaac’s Way… well, not yet anyway! The truth is I have been volunteering much of my time (with Jason’s help) towards an amazing outdoor project at Connaught Street School, Fredericton’s last remaining elementary school in the downtown core.

Living Playground Project at Connaught Street School

CSS recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and to mark this special moment in history, the parents and teachers decided to create an outdoor classroom, a living playground with a lot of green space for the students and also for the visiting community.  The goal of this living playground is education, more specifically for visitors to learn about native species, sustainability, and how to nurture and preserve our planet earth.  In this day and age, our youth have a great need for this type of education.  Many studies have shown their is less time being spent outdoors because of our ties to technology, and many children are suffering from “nature deprivation”.  It is exciting to look ahead, as we volunteers know this living playground will benefit young minds for years to come… in oh so many ways.

New Wooden Stairs, Sliding Hill, and Amphitheatre

Glenn Group Park Planners and Landscape Architects designed the living playground for us.  It will encircle the school grounds and beautifully transform the hill behind the school.  There will be educational signage throughout the playground, and pathways to walk while observing the different trees, shrubs, and plants.  Summer 2008 we created a storyteller’s circle with an over-sized iron chair, hand crafted by artisan Veit Weber, and four large planters to provide shade and gardening space for the kids. Around the perimeter of the school we built 20+ tamarack planters so that each classroom can bring their seedlings outside. This is what kept us busy in summer and fall, 2009. We also hired Wall Construction to build us a new set of wooden stairs to the upper soccer field, and a new sliding hill.  Over 50 species of trees were planted that October. Wow! Dianne Earle from Scott’s Nursery volunteered her time while the children became gardeners for a day and planted spring bulbs and perennials in their new planter boxes, this was a lot of fun for the kids. Each year they love to grow seedlings inside over the spring months to be planted outside in June.

Fall 2010 we celebrated while Martin Landscaping constructed a stone amphitheatre.  Summer and fall 2011 we are creating educational signage, natural mulch pathways, and outdoor learning centres. The project will be completed, hopefully by summer 2012, with a Grand Opening Celebration scheduled for June 2012.

To learn more, and to find out how you can help us reach these goals, please contact Tina LeJeune, Project Coordinator, via email at tlejeune@nbnet.nb.ca, or Barb Corbett, Principal of Connaught Street School, at 453-5404.  We are currently searching for donations from community members and local businesses – the funding will be used for educational signage, trees and vegetation, amphitheatre seats, and gardening materials for the classrooms.  Your contribution towards this wonderful downtown project – The CSS Living Playground Outdoor Classroom – will be greatly appreciated!  To see these photos below in full size, simply click on each one.