Silver Birches School Making a Difference

Silver Birches School, North Bay Hydro, Eagle Tree and North Bay’s Clean Green and Beautiful have created an extended partnership over the last 4 years.

Since 2021, this initiative has brought over 20 tall, thriving trees to our schoolyard—an incredible gift that continues to enrich our school community in countless ways. This collaboration has added so much value, learning, and beauty to our school yard and school community.  

We know kids thrive outside. We know they love nature and being a part of it. Outdoor and environmental learning need to be part of all our students’ learning. Silver Birches’ Nature School Program (ALL grades K – 3 students) learns and takes part in all sorts of environmental service and stewardship around these new trees. In spring, they take turns filling and carrying watering cans, all over the yard to help the trees. We fill buckets of donated mulch and build ‘donuts’ around the trees to help them stay cool and pool water. This is experiential cross-curricular learning at its best! The students love to be outside and they love to have power and purpose in this important work. Students choose a quiet spot under a tree, students measure the trees and how much they grow, over the years. 

Our trees offer endless benefits and learning opportunities as well as functional benefits. Not only have the trees helped with our annual ice and flooding, but they soak up the spring water much faster and allow for the students to enjoy the yard longer. Most importantly, as climate continues to warm, in September and May and June, the students can find small (and growing!) pockets of shade, from this generous gift. Even our youngest students now understand it is cooler in the shade and they gravitate towards the trees on hot days.  

During our first year (2021) with the partnership, CGB also offered a $1000 grant to applicants, which we applied for, which helped us purchase equipment and other garden and tree resources to help maintain the trees.  

We look to high school volunteers interested in watering the trees throughout the summer to show their community support and help them gain their volunteer hours.  

Overall, we would not have the school yard we are growing if it weren’t for Clean, Green and Beautiful, North Bay Hydro, Hal and the team at Eagle Tree. We hope this partnership continues in the years to come as we green our school and city and provide safe and beautiful learning spaces for students! 

Heather Dabrowski 

(Ms. D) Prep Teacher at Silver Birches School