Middle school kids were out in force last week protecting our city.
They weren’t wearing any super suits, though. They were wearing planting gloves.
The Junior Streamkeepers from Southgate Middle School were on a not-so-secret mission assigned by Greenways Land Trust.
Their mission? To help keep the city from flooding.
The city has needed some help to maintain stormwater management ponds. They’re the city’s flood protection.
These man-made ponds keep runoff away from houses and other infrastructure. They improve water quality, reduce erosion, and give our local wildlife some extra habitat.
The kids were there to give the ponds the attention they deserve.
They did this by planting native plant species. The plants not only give cute animals a home, but help direct the pond’s flow and function.
Kyle Fitzpatrick is the Greenways Land Trust Education Coordinator. He said that in addition to helping the city, the project is just as beneficial for the students.
“It helps them to learn stewardship values so that they learn to care about the environment but also they’re creating habitat. And this is a place that’s close enough to the schools,” Fitzpatrick told the Campbell River Mirror.
“They can visit continually over the years and hopefully see it what they’re helping to foster today to grow and yeah mature into something even more.”
The planting mission will be ongoing, continuing this week with elementary school-age superheroes in training.
Pretty adorable, right?
The Greenways Land Trust Junior Streamkeepers EcoAction program is funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada. It’s part of the plan to prepare for the increasingly extreme weather we’ve been experiencing on VanIse.
The kid’s efforts to buffer the effects of the climate crisis are much needed.
They’re role models we grownups should look up to.
