St. Louis School's Down to Earth Nature Club Connects Students with Community and Ecology
Students at St. Louis Sch
ool are learning about 
planting, animals, nature, photography, canning, beekeeping, composting and a wide variety of other topics from local community members through the school's Down to Earth Nature Club.
Teacher Kerri Favreau talks about the program, "The Down to Earth Nature Club is a group of multi-aged students who work with community members. It allows students an opportunity to appreciate and learn about nature from different perspectives. We try to keep the activities broad in scope so that there is always something new and interesting to discover."
The club started last spring, with sixty-two students signing up to be a part of it. This resulted in an expansion of the program to two days per week instead of one. Students in Grades 4 - 6 meet on Tuesdays and students in Grades 3 - 6 meet on Thursdays.
Kerri Favreau reflected on the popularity of the program. "I think the reason we have so many students is because everyone can see their interests reflected in topics we explore. Some of the children are excited about animals; others are excited about planting. It's very open. We try to find guests that have diverse backgrounds."
Last school year, the Down to Earth Nature Club welcomed numerous speakers to share their learning. Urban farmer Kris Holmstrom talked about new and innovative ways to grow food, and each child planted a tray of microgreens. Local wildlife enthusiast and story-teller Phil Burk took the students on a walk to the Mink Bay Trails and shared many of his wildlife photographs with the students. Author and Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialist, Lil Anderson, visited the club and shared fascinating stories about animals. The students only had to mention an animal and Anderson shared a story about an experience with it.
The Compost Club visited and talked about the importance of composting and how to do it. This resulted in the students sorting through classroom trash and reflecting on which items could be composted and how too many recyclable items are ending up in the trash. The students now have a composter, and they plan to do a presentation for the rest of the school to improve recycling throughout St. Louis School. Local beekeeper Garry Wiebe visited to talk about beekeeping. During his presentation, students got to see a bee hatch.
The culminating spring project was the planting of a Pollinator Garden in front of the school, where students got to observe butterflies and bees pollinating the flowers in their garden. Parents and community members joined and watched as the garden flourished and attracted more pollinators.
The fall session of the Down to Earth Nature Club is well underway. The students have had the opportunity to explore their interest in nature photography with local photographer Ryan Fisher. They also learned about canning and preserving with Mike Neufeld and look forward too many more guest presenters.
Grade 5 Student Devin Campbell talks about why he likes the program. "I think it was really cool that Mrs. Favreau would bring in people to teach us about nature," he said.
"I joined the Down to Earth Nature Club because it sounded really fun. I go out to the bush a lot and it would help me identify plants when I was at my camp," said Arlie Olson, Grade 5 student. "I really like learning about how to can and preserve food with Mike Neufeld."
The Down to Earth Nature Club is just one of the ways that St. Louis School is responding to the call by God to be stewards of the earth. If you know someone who would be a great presenter at the Down to Earth Nature Club, please let the school know, and they will be happy to welcome them.