Coquitlam Watershed

Coquitlam Watershed

Our class visited the Coquitlam Watershed last week. What an amazing fieldtrip! We were so happy that we could get to explore God's creation on a beatiful, sunny day. When we arrived at the Watershed, we each got a nametag with the name of a plant or animal which we had to try and spot during our visit. The bus took us to the highest point from where we could look out over the watershed. Unfortunately, we didn't see a bear (the previous class did!) but we were lucky to spot the red-legged frog - thanks Justice! We went for a long walk through the amazing old growth forest; we were in awe of the huge trees, and laughed to see two centipedes kissing! We ended the day exploring the trails around Or Creek, from a specific person's point of view. The artists sat under the trees sketching what they saw, forest rangers used binoculars and magnifying glasses to find things, the dam builders enjoyed getting dirty while building their dam, and the navigators explored new areas with a compass in hand. I heard many of our students telling the guides: "This was the best field trip ever!" Take a look at the slideshow to share in our fieldtrip.

First Nations Visitor and Forest Art

On May 30, Mr. King (or Sierra’s dad), came in to tell us about First Nations People. He was half First Nations, and showed us very old artifacts such as a piece of rock used to grind corn and grain into cornmeal and flour. His paternal grandmother is alive today and is First Nations. She had lived in a hogan (that’s a traditional Navajo house). When he and his brother visited her to install a fridge and build a washroom (so she didn’t have to walk 100 yards to the outhouse), some strange things happened. A few days after they went to install the fridge, they saw that she had unplugged it. They asked why she had done it. She said that it was because the light was always on. They explained to her that there was a button and when the fridge door closes and hits the button, the light turns off. While they were there, they checked the washroom and found it being used as a storage room. She hadn’t lived with electricity or running water ever before, so she didn’t use them the way we do. Now she lives in a nursing home, as she is 98 years old.

First Nations Visitor and Art in the Forest

Les Trois Petits Cochons 4BB