Latest News
York Region is known for its beautiful scenery, plentiful trees and flowing streams hiding in the many towns and cities that encompass the region. The Grade 7/8 class at St. Angela Catholic Elementary School in Woodbridge recently joined the growing number of students taking action to protect these spaces.
On October 13, the students in Mr. Belvedere’s class participated in a tree planting program, as part of the Adopt-A-Stream initiative sponsored by the Region of York.
The Adopt-A-Stream Crossing program encourages school and community groups to become responsible for the protection and restoration of local streams near regional roads. The students planted a variety of maple, willow, and cedar trees on a tributary of the Humber River called Rainbow Creek. Rainbow Creek can be found just south of Martin Grove on the Eastside of Highway 27 on the lower floodplain.
The group of students were extremely dedicated to their task and persevered through muddy conditions from rainfall the night before. Luckily, the rain held off long enough for the 19 students and parent volunteers to plant 46 trees.
Afterwards, a chain of students worked together in order to bring mulch from the road to the planting site, in order to prevent soil erosion.
Principal Lucy Rizzi knows the positive impact participating in the program had on her students.
“The students felt a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, and showed their commitment by agreeing to monitor the location in the years to come,” she said.
Principal Rizzi is also proud of the way everyone worked together to make the day go so smoothly.
“Many thanks to Dave Parrott, the Project Coordinator from the Regional Municipality of York, as well as the parent volunteers who assisted these students into becoming true stewards of this community.”