Planting project helps keep Prince Albert green

From left to right, Ecole Vickers Public School students Jase Michalchuk, Jamie Cournoyer, Jackson Haines hold up three trees ready for planting during a project with the Prince Albert Model Forest on Thursday, June 22. -- Jason Kerr/Daily Herald

A group of Prince Albert elementary school students spent a few hours in the sun to make sure future residents have more time in the shade.

Grade 4 students from Ecole Vickers Public School got out of the classroom and into the outdoors on June 22 as part of a new program to plant more trees in the Prince Albert area.

With school winding down for the summer, most students were happy to get out of the classroom. However, they were also happy to contribute to a project with a lifelong legacy.

“We want a healthy environment for our school and the whole entire world,” student Jase Michalchuk said. “The trees help with the environment. They also help with air. People usually cut them down, but we want them to grow.”

“People say that it’s hard work, but it’s really not,” fellow student Jackson Haines added. “Most people like to stay inside watching TV during the summer, but it’s better to maybe go outside, weed your garden, plant some plants, and do something for the environment.”

The June 22 expedition wasn’t the first students have made to plant trees near their school. It’s part of a partnership with the Prince Albert Model Forest, which is working to plant 7,800 trees in the Prince Albert area.

Vickers Public School Grade 4 teacher Marcia Klein helped spearhead the project. She wanted to get students studying the environment outside the classroom, so she contacted the City of Prince Albert parks department, and they put her in touch with the Prince Albert Model Forest.

Klein said the partnership has given students a stronger appreciate for the environment, while teaching them about teamwork.

“These trees will grow as the kids grow,” she said. “It’s really cool to stand here and watch the kids because you can see the ownership, (and) you can see they’re excited. There’s responsibility. They’re working together.

“I think that the more that kids do meaningful projects, the better we are as a community (and) as a society,” she added.

Prince Albert Model Forest General Manager Peter Friedrichsen (left) and projects coordinator Caitlyn Anhorn (right) speak to students before they begin planting. — Jason Kerr/Daily Herald

Prince Albert Model Forest General Manager Peter Friedrichsen and projects coordinator Caitlyn Anhorn were out helping the class with the project. This is the second year they’ve worked with Ecole Vickers Public School on a tree planting activity. He said it’s inspiring to see the enthusiasm.

“It brings a smile to my face,” he said. “Most of them really find it really engaging that they can take part in building community.”

From an education standpoint, Friedrichsen said it’s difficult to get across the importance of environmental sustainability without leaving the classroom. Books and videos have their place, but it’s hard to beat getting outside yourself.

“This way you can have at least some sense … of the time we’re looking at when we think about sustainability or forestry,” Friedrichsen explained. “It’s going to take 40 years for these to really be full mature trees in a forest, so it changes your time span. I think that’s something you can’t really learn at a desk. You have to go out and do it yourself.”

The trees planted by Ecole Vickers students will form a windbreaker near the Rotary Trail and the nearby baseball diamonds once they’ve grown to full height. Friedrichsen said the City of Prince Albert planted berry patches in the area in 2017, but many of those plants were destroyed during snow removal projects.

Friedrichsen estimates students planted between 200 and 250 trees in about one hour of work. The new trees are a bit back from the trail to give snow crews plenty of space.

Vickers students aren’t the only ones in Prince Albert helping the Model Forest make Prince Albert greener. Students from Wesmor High School helped plant trees near the Miller Hill Spray Park in the northeast end of the city.

Non-students have also helped out, the most recent being a public planting project with the Model Forest at Mair Park on June 22.

Friedrichsen said they have more planting projects planned in the future, the biggest being in La Ronge next fall. They’re also hoping to apply for grant funding to plant trees in the area burned by the Cloverdale Fire in 2021.

If approved, the Cloverdale Fire planting program would be geared towards high school students who are thinking about forestry as a career.

“It’s a lot of work, but I love doing it,” Friedrichsen said. “I’m hopeful that Prince Albert can be a staging ground for reshaping what forestry and forest education looks like in Saskatchewan.”

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