This year, we worked with the Jane’s Walk program on a school edition based on cityscapes in schools surroundings. The project came to fruition when two of our EcoSchools took part in this endeavour to engage them on environmental and urban issues within their community. We took part in the latest Jane’s Walk led by Ms. Gisèle Libawo’s Grade 7 class at École catholique secondaire Monseigneur-de-Charbonnel (CSDCCS).
To mark the 100th birthday of urbanist activist Jane Jacobs, who advocated for lively public spaces and strongly opposed the construction of the Spadina Expressway, several Jane’s Walks were held during the first week (and weekend) of May. For a school version of the Walk, about twenty Grade 7 students, accompanied by their teacher and three Jane’s Walks leaders, engaged in a both instructive and jovial outing.
With links to environmental education, the walk was essentially led by students and gave rise to various conversations on themes such as waste in the community, the change to the residential community linked with permanent infrastructure, and the importance of parks in our daily lives. Ms. Libawo herself explained that these outings are linked to the science curriculum she teaches her students, in particular Understanding Life Systems: Interactions in the Environment, Grade 7. Students had previously had the opportunity to lead research inquiries on environmental subject matters in the classroom.
During this two-hour walk, students made several stops so that each group could make a presentation on their chosen theme. Observations made about parks and constructions were critical, to say the least, showing the learning acquired during this five-week program. Students raised their concerns about the environment while emphasizing the importance to get out of the classroom for several reasons, such as the observation of the environment we live in and the physical and mental benefits of walks. As for us members of Ontario EcoSchools, we were glad to see a school group hitting the outdoors to simply put their theoretical learning to practice and prove the importance of outdoor learning. We thank Jane’s Walks for their wonderful work in schools and for this collaboration with Francophone schools. Thank you also to École Monseigneur-de-Charbonnel for opening its doors to show us the fruits of this initiative.
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