Outdoor classroom rebuilt after Fiona becomes tribute to late teacher
CBC
Kindergarten teacher Linda Roach was known for her love of the outdoors and for being active.
When the outdoor classroom at Vernon River Consolidated School in eastern Prince Edward Island was destroyed by falling trees during post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022, Roach was determined to rebuild it.
She had helped to create the original classroom, so along with physical education teacher Sarah Adams, she put together a proposal and the school received provincial funding.
"We really felt the loss of this classroom after Fiona had taken down lots of trees, and we weren't using this space," Adams said.
"Our kids love being outside. We've got kids who build forts. They climb trees. They live for the outdoors," Adams said. "We really wanted to create kind of a designated space that was purposeful, where teachers could take children outside to really engage in some hands-on experiential learning opportunities."
But Roach passed away in December 2023, before the project could be carried out, leaving colleagues, students and local families to mourn her loss.
"Trying to take it on, and keep her vision and my vision together without her here, has been quite difficult," Adams said.
"But we've had so many people step up and support that. So I think she'd be proud."
Six months after Roach's death, the school and the entire community have rallied to finish the outdoor classroom.
And it has blossomed into an even bigger project, with a community garden, medicine wheel garden, and more.
"Our project really kind of took on a new life. A lot of people from the community... were reaching out, wanting to help out," said principal Dave Wood. "Our home and school [association] joined in. People from the community have joined in. We've gotten great support."
He said being out in the fresh air was important to Roach, who had training as a hunter and trapper.
"She felt connecting with outside was really important — learning about the environment, learning about all the world around us," Wood said.
"It was kind of neat for a kindergarten teacher to really want to expose children to that. She wanted to get away from the screens and she wanted the kids to be outside and learning and playing."
East of the small village of Coutts, Alta., a stone’s throw from the border with the United States, Cindy Bosch’s day-to-day life looks much like it did a year ago.
For years, police have been on the front lines of mental health crisis calls in Toronto, but the city's police chief believes it's now time to rethink that approach.
One of Prince Edward Island’s last surviving Second World War veterans has died.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has too much regulation and not enough investments in clean energy and technology — and he's making his most direct repudiation yet of his predecessor's environmental policies.
WARNING: This story contains distressing content, including racist, violent and antisemitic language.
A national Jewish advocacy organization is taking legal action against Manitoba's medical regulator over a complaint it made last year alleging a prominent doctor made antisemitic comments on social media.
A cat that went missing in a remote area of northeastern B.C. is finally back home with its family in Oklahoma, five months later.
It wasn’t clear trolleys would be a hit in Medicine Hat, but the Sunshine Trolley has wound its way into Hatters’ hearts.
More than 200 volunteers and politicians gathered in Etobicoke Saturday for the Daily Bread Food Bank’s holiday sort.
The rising cost-of-living has already made supporting a family difficult this year. But, the holidays can make staying on budget that much harder.
Strong winds across the Maritimes left thousands of N.B. Power customers without electricity on Saturday afternoon — and it could be days before all customers have their power restored.
Toronto police say they located a body inside a downtown Toronto home Saturday.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is responding to public outcry against his government’s policy changes for non-permanent residents by making a plea to the federal government.