‘Green Day’: Some Kelowna middle school students learn about invasive species

The lesson plan at École KLO Middle School’s ‘Green Day’ was environmental stewardship.

“Green Day is about teaching this generation about important lessons for the future,”  KLO Middle School teacher Ashley Ragoonaden told Global News.

“The importance of freshwater, the importance of climate change.”

Thursday’s important lesson focused on invasive plant species and how they can damage and destroy a wetland ecosystem.

“Watersheds just happen to be a really large area, where all the rain and water collect down into,” Alix Casey told students.

Casey is part of the B.C. Wildlife Federation’s Wetlands Workforce crew, which was brought in to help the students recognize invasive plant species.

The Wetlands Workforce crew taught four classes all about the invasive plant species that have taken hold along the banks of Fascieux Creek, which runs through the school’s soccer fields.

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In 2016, a restoration program was undertaken on Fascieux Creek where it ran underground entombed in concrete in order to transform it into a natural meandering creek.

2:22 Mission Creek Restoration Initiative

Five years later, the wetland area now provides École KLO Middle School with a perfect outdoor classroom to teach environmental awareness.

“It’s nice because it teaches us about how to treat the community and how the earth is important to us,” said Grade 7 student Savannah Rosdal.

Part of the day’s curriculum involved identifying invasive species, removing them and replacing them with native species.

This effort to connect kids with nature is part of the province’s Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI).

The HWI is a $27-million economic stimulus package that invests in watershed conservation and restoration projects by working with partners like the B.C. Wildlife Federation.

2:06 Kokanee salmon kill off

“The more we can get kids hooked into nature, the more we can get them to care about it,” said Jesse Zeeman, the B.C. Wildlife Federation’s director of fish and wildlife restoration.

“The more they are aware of that, the better they are going to do for the environment over the long run.”