Wild - BIG LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Big Lake School is going Wild.

The Wild Schools program is a free, whole-school, three year initiative for K-9 schools to support outdoor and place-based learning. This interdisciplinary, curriculum-linked program helps school communities to increase ecological literacy, outdoor field experiences and to build connections in conservation in the community. Through hands-on environmental learning and experiences, students are engaged through a process of wondering, inquiring, learning and doing. Wild Schools have the opportunity to develop stewardship practices, on-going outdoor learning, community partnerships and support students in becoming environmentally responsible citizens.

Big Lake has already been focused on nature education and we are so excited about this opportunity! We are already in the planning stages of expanding our outdoor learning spaces and are looking into building an outdoor classroom. We are situated in a beautiful space right between lake front and forest's edge and we're decked out with outdoor ed. equipment we were able to purchase with a GO Grant (Get Outside) we received this year from HCTF for $3000. This helped pay for bussing to nature trips, nature facilitators, and equipment that we used to fill up GO bags (backpacks) that we purchased from Red Shred's (pictured right). Our kids are so excited!

Balm of Gilead

(May 2019) Thanks to a very fun new WILD nature experience with Amy Grieve, students are also bringing home their very own Balm of Gilead today. Ask your child all about it and how it was made.
Wild BC Network - HCTF Education
https://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/balm-of-gilead/

Spring is Wild! Event

(June 2019) Today we celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day and summer solstice with our first ever WILD Day. We welcomed K-5 students from Horsefly Elementary and rotated through nature learning stations taught by guest teachers from Wild BC Network - HCTF Education and WL Community Forest, Frances McCoubrey and Kim Benisch. We talked sustainability, sense of place, traditional ways of knowing, animal adaptations, plant features, seasons, and ecosystems (just to name a few). To top it all off we had the BEST weather of the week and a delicious hot lunch served by many volunteers from PAC. Thank you to everyone who helped make today another unforgettable one for our students and their new friends. A new tradition, we hope!

Walking Curriculum

(Sept. 2019) We kicked off our #walkingchallenge this Fall We’ll walk with intention and imaginations every day for 30 days. The Walking Curriculum is an innovative interdisciplinary resource for educators K-12 who want to take student learning outside school walls. Walking Curriculum activities can be used in any context to develop students' Sense of Place and to enrich their understanding of curricular topics.

https://www.mycariboonow.com/54915/big-lake-elementary-school-takes-part-in-30-day-walking-curricular-challenge/?fbclid=IwAR01RHXRFKm5lLepFVCcs30P1EdD3hJrTjEuKF3JSw1rEGvIy8Z0OVPUqaI

Below Zero Workshop

(January 2020) Inside, outside & above, below. Outdoor education is magical. Part of being an HCTF Education “Wild School” is being supported by awesome facilitators. Thanks Jess & Rolland for taking us through the Below Zero workshop at Big Lake Elementary!

Big Lake Mammals in Winter

(January 2020) As a WILD SCHOOL we are excited to start a whole school unit in outdoor education! We are going to spend the next month learning about snow, how it protects animals in the winter and then use the knowledge we learn for an ADST project that uses what we have learned about snow.

The ADST project will be to build to work with some classmates to build a shelter in the winter that will protect us from the cold, wet and winter weather.

We began the unit today by going out to see what we can learning from other mammals who have already figured out how to survive in the winter. We will do this by gathering evidence/data to answer the BIG question "How do mammals around Big Lake seem to find shelter in the winter?” We made good use of our school snowshoes and nature journals today!

(cont.) Today we continued our whole school unit in outdoor education. We are spending this month learning about snow and how it protects animals in the winter. We will use what we learn to ultimately build a shelter that will protect us from the cold, wet and winter weather.

This morning Frances joined us to revisit our learning so far and we worked on the question: Will the snow act as an insulator? Our hunch was that it must; which is why so many critters use the subnivean layer. Students used materials such as a thermometer, ice cubes in baggies and snow. They recorded their materials and procedure and headed outside to experiment! Tomorrow they will record their measurements into their data sheets. Thank you Frances for working with our staff to build up our capacity as nature teachers and curious learners!