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LAND BASED LEARNING

As learners and educators of Forest Park school, we have chosen and are committed to engaging in time outdoors daily, in every season, and in all types of weather, looking to the Land as our teacher.

Sometimes we adventure outdoors with a lesson plan in mind, ready to learn from the Land in areas of Math, Science, Art, Social Studies, Literacy, Music and/or Physical activity.

Sometimes we look to nature to show us, with all our senses, what we should be paying attention to.

Sometimes the students are the teachers, sometimes it's the adults, but most often it's a collaborative effort.

Most often we return to the same places in our community, over and over again. Whether this is our own school grounds, the secret park, the empty park, the railway tracks, or one of the many green spaces that surround Forest Park.

We think about what these spaces look like today, as well how they have looked in history. And we contemplate how we can help to care for these special places for 7 generations to come.

During our time outdoors we are:

• Learning about and expanding our understanding surrounding the relationship between the Land and Indigenous peoples.
• Developing a reciprocal relationship with the Land (which includes the sky, water, air, living and non-living beings, etc) and recognizing that all of nature is our equal.
• Learning that we are all a part of nature, and that the teachings of Love and Respect are at the forefront of this relationship.
• Expressing and showing gratitude to the Earth for all that it shares with us.
• Learning how to think critically about our relationship with and to the Earth. How can we contribute to its sustainability and how does it impact us?
• Providing an authentic opportunity for experiential learning, that focuses on Two-Eyed Seeing – incorporating a western worldview alongside an Indigenous one.
• Connecting students with a love of nature and the outdoors, through exploration and play.

We do this purposely, because as a school we have committed to living out our Land Acknowledgement.

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​​FOREST PARK LAND BASED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

​​​At Forest Park School we acknowledge we are on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Ininewak, Aniishinin, Dene and Dakota peoples and the homeland of the Red River Métis Nation.  As we learn, live and play throughout the seasons on this Treaty One land, we will walk softly, listen to and be grateful for this earth, this sky and these waters. We are responsible for taking care of ourselves, each other and this place by respecting our differences, acknowledging the past, and moving toward truth and reconciliation.

Created by Forest Park Community, 2021-22​