Blessed Sacrament Elementary School
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Current Information from the Greening Committee

Greening Updates

November 8, 2011 email from the Greening Committee:
At the November 7th meeting it was decided that we will not pursue Round 3 of the Aviva Community Fund. We stand 17th out of 456 and many supporters have run out of votes so this Round will not see our project in the top ten. This was a positive experience - we had almost 950 supporters and there is a great deal of awareness in our community about this neglected space that was not there before. We will continue with our efforts in completing the phases to this project. The minutes from the Greening Committee meeting will be circulated shortly; going forward our meetings will take place the same evening as the CSAC meetings (the next meeting is Monday December 5 @ 5:30pm). Thank you all for your support!

Letter sent to community on October 12, 2011:
Re: Phase I of Blessed Sacrament Greening Efforts Commencing!
As a result of feedback received by the BSCS parents and students over the last year and the tremendous work of the 2010 Greening Committee, we are pleased to inform you that work will begin on the overall Greening Plan beginning with the Butterfly Garden on Friday October 21st at 8:30 a.m. (the original start date of October 14th was delayed due to poor weather conditions).
The Greening Committee has hired Hawkins Contracting for Phase One of this project. Hawkins will be removing the railing, mulching, adding armor stone, adding two oak logs for seating/climbing. They will be rotating some of the existing boulders.
The work will be completed on Saturday October 22nd. As a result, this space will inaccessible during this time.
Due to the regular pedestrian and vehicular congestion, we have asked Hawkins to begin work after 8:30 a.m. so there is minimal disruption to the morning drop off. Afterward this area will be fenced off so the students are not near the work being done.
Please meet/pick up your student after school on Friday at the furthest south west point of the BSCS property as to avoid the Butterfly Garden entrance while work is being done.
A reminder to all parents who are picking up: there are 6 busses after school and as usual there can be NO PARKING in the bus zone as the drivers begin assembling there.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation, and patience with this project.
For further information on our greening efforts and to see the overall Greening Plan please see our website: http://www.blessedsacramentcs.com/greeningcommittee.html. To join the committee, please contact Tara O Hagan at tara.ohagan@rogers.com.

Update from October 3, 2011 CSAC
- Work will soon begin on the butterfly garden beginning with the removal of the rails; they are a major safety hazard. Two benches and cedar mulch will be put in the east end of the playground. This will also help with drainage of the area. There is one large boulder that will be tipped on its side so it will not be as high. Cement area in front of amphitheatre will be painted.
- An additional grant for greening from TD has been received; the grant will be used to fund this part of the playground enhancement. We have applied to the Board for a larger grant for greening the entire playground. We are cautiously optimistic; some of the same people who were involved on the construction side are stakeholders reviewing our application.
- The zones in the playground were instituted to reduce injury when older, larger children are playing in same areas as younger children. Mr. Sweeney will investigate the way groups function in the playground and will review the possibility of making the butterfly garden a quiet play area for all grades but will need to do it while considering safe interactions among older and younger children. At the same time, younger children who currently use this area as part of their designated space will need to be accommodated into other zones if this area is opened up to all grades.
- There have been a number of accidents in the butterfly garden due to the boulders; many parents noted that there are a number of safety, play and aesthetic issues. While these are being addressed by the larger greening plan, there may be some short term changes that will reduce injury and enhance student interaction.

Greening Initiative

History
In the fall of 2010, CSAC formed a Greening task force, a committee with representation from CSAC, the parent community, and the Eco Green Team (EGT). Over a period spanning almost 12 years, various CSAC groups have fundraised to install new front steps at Blessed Sacrament; during the summer of 2010, the TCDSB designated this as a capital improvement and completed the installment of new steps and greenery at the front of the school. This left a surplus of over $30,000 in the CSAC budget.

Mandate
The Committee's mandate is to "green" Blessed Sacrament's school grounds providing a safe, welcoming and community-friendly place for our children to develop.
The committee created a long-term plan which included obtaining the voice of the children, teachers, parents and community. Many lunch recesses were spent on the playground to get the children's views on what works, what doesn't and what they would like to see. They solicited the teacher's and administration views. They sent a survey to obtain the feedback of the parents.

Site Plan

Here is a picture of the site plan as of June 2011 (click on the map to see a bigger picture or click here to see a pdf file of this map):

Greening Committee Site Map Spring 2011

Parents and students are invited to please review the plan and offer their comments and feedback. Students may use the comment box that is posted by the plan; parents may either use the box or send their comments by email to csac@blessedsacramentcs.com.

Minutes

Here are the minutes for the Greening Committee:

  • December 5, 2011: A discussion was held regarding the welcome sign; Denise presented a few concepts for the sign and the group approved the sign type, concept for the sign, size, location, and to seek approval from the board. Veronica presented information from the Bedford Park Public School campaign to raise funds for their playground improvements; Veronica will present suggestions for pricing levels and potential opportunities and Denise will provide a list of potential recognition areas. Veronica presented the results of a discussion with the Silent Auction Committee; they have agreed that a portion of this year’s funds can be targeted for the playground greening efforts. Irene provided some feedback on playground use.
  • April 6, 2011: Karen Dubrocki from Evergreen attended the meeting; results from surveys to date (including students, teachers, caretaker, and principal), Design Elements (Top 5 design elements including exercise and open space, outdoor learning, play, social, and greening) and Funding Issues (timing, long-term support plan, stewardship) were discussed.
  • March 2, 2011: Denise presented the existing site plan and various funding options were discussed.
  • February 7, 2011: Karen Dubrocki from Evergreen was introduced and provided examples of projects at various schools and suggested how to move forward with the project as well as addressed various funding options. The committee spoke about the annual maintenance requirements of the space as there is no funding at the TCDSB level for it.
  • January 19, 2011: Denise noted the need for a long term perspective on greening efforts and associated plan and proposed that the Committee speak to an Evergreen representative to assist in this regard.

Links

Here are some interesting links related to other school greening projects that have taken place:

  • On November 12, 2010, the Globe and Mail had an article about a school in England called Coombs; founded by Sue Humphries, this educator spent four decades transforming a barren yard into an outdoor classroom, becoming part of a growing outdoor movement that could transform the way school yards are designed and built.