Four years ago, Sophie Maltese had no idea her painting of a tree would result in an outdoor classroom being built at Bishop E.Q. Jennings Elementary School.
Then just 12, she said she created the artwork because her teacher told her the class was entering a nationwide contest put on by TD Bank’s Friends of the Environment program.
Maltese, now 16 and a student at St. Ignatius High School hoping to become a doctor some day, on Thursday had the opportunity to see her dream become reality.
Bishop E.Q Jennings students – including her younger sister Isabella – officially opened the outdoor classroom, a gazebo surrounded by a garden and a gravel walking path.
It’s fantastic, the youngster said.
“I’ve always had a love for being outside with nature,” she said. “And it’s really nice to see that students now can go outside and have their classroom experience outdoors.”
“It’s like a different environment, so it changes things up so it helps them be more interested.”
Art and science teacher Joel Biesenthal said it was a four-year journey to get to this point.
The Friends of the Environment Foundation provided $7,500 toward the project, which was topped up by funding from a number of other agencies to being the outdoor classroom to life.
“A lot of times we’re connected to technology indoors, doing sedentary activities and when we use technology at school we do use it as an educational tool,” Biesenthal said.
“But studies show we need to get our kids back outdoors and from the age of nine to 12, if we can foster a connection with nature, then when they grow up and are lawyers, doctors or whatever career they’re in, they may have a deeper respect for the environment and while doing their job, they’ll respect the environment.”
Alanna Drost, a commercial banking analyst at TD Bank, said it’s rewarding to see the work come to fruition.
“It’s being well used and will be around for generations to come.”
