One year after students from Ecole Glenmore Elementary planted new trees to replace the ones that burned down in the 2023 McDougall Creek wildfire, the class returned to check the evergreens on Tuesday, May 20.
There at the top of Blue Grouse Mountain was just what the students had hoped for a much greener scenery than last April.
"They're learning about forest regeneration, they're learning what fire does and how important fire is," said Ecole Glenmore Elementary Grade 3/4 French Immersion teacher Erica van Oyen. "They're also learning math right now because they're counting how many trees survived from last year and they're going to calculate the percentage and mean of how many actually grew. They're also learning about the plants the animals have eaten and they're going to learn about the wildflowers - plus we're outside enjoying mother nature, which is the best part in my opinion."
Last year, the elementary school students planted pine and fir trees with senior students from Rutland Secondary School's forestry academy.
"The forestry students, I always find it's really good for them to teach what they've learned to the younger students because it helps them to commit it to memory better and also gives them a chance to be leaders and role models," added RSS forestry academy teacher Marshall Corbett. "It's really great to see them step up into that role. Both the younger and older students really enjoy the learning process."
