Gretna Green Elementary School
Story Land Park

Children’s authors Sheree Fitch (right) and Keith Scott (left) talk with some of their student admirers at Story Land Park opening.

Gretna Green Elementary School in Miramichi, NB created Story Land Park from a three acre woodlot beside its school. The project’s focus is to encourage and promote literacy in a natural setting. The students (grades 3 - 5) were heavily involved, not only in building the park, but in doing research, interviewing and evaluating New Brunswick authors and in writing the informational signage on nature and the authors for the park. From the results it appears the students’ literacy skills are flourishing at the same time as they have a new school yard area to enjoy nature.

Teacher coordinators, Jill Stewart and Doris Jardine, say everyone in the school was involved “reading and doing” in preparation for the opening in May 1998. Since then, more materials have been researched, and new materials have been developed. The New Brunswick Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholm has paid an official visit to Story Land, and a feature about her visit can be seen on the Canadian Literacy web site, www.nald.ca.

Students help with forestry work to build Story Land Park on a Community - School work day.

The park began, as many naturalization projects do, with concern about the schoolyard. It lacked shade and activities to stimulate the children creatively. When the teachers looked for a way to change the situation they discovered the adjacent woodlot actually was school property. It needed work, heavy physical work, to make it a safe place for the young students. But they also realized the site could become a learning environment. For their school it was decided to link the park to literacy. The New Brunswick Department of Education provided an “Innovation Grant” for the “literacy” park. Teacher-coordinators, Jill and Doris, led the initiative.

During the fall and winter (‘97 - ‘98) the local community came behind the students and the plan. A local forestry company and the community college cleared the underbrush and provided other silviculture assistance. Work teams of parents and students laboured at the development of trails. School custodians and bus drivers offered to build bat houses and bird houses.

Two students prepare to interview authors for the literacy park project.

Jill suggested to her Grade Five Enrichment Group that they could choose 5 New Brunswick authors to be “featured and promoted” in the park. The students compiled a list from the books they enjoyed reading, work of some 40 New Brunswick children’s authors. From discussions about these books, the list was reduced to 5 authors with literary connections to the outdoors. Then the students grouped into teams to do the research and telephone interviews and to write a biography of each author for park signage.

The Grade Four classes researched the trees in the woodlot for the interpretive signs. The Grade Three classes researched the woodlot’s wildlife. Their information was used for interpretive signs that were later built by the Corrections Canada Atlantic Region inmates in their workshop.

The Home and School organized a school competition for naming the park. The winner saw her chosen name, ”Story Land Park”, raised high on the wrought iron sign over the entrance, designed and built by a local metal works company. Two flying open books top the post rails. The city of Miramichi donated park benches. Literary motifs from the selected authors’ books were chosen by the students and then painted on the benches by the students. It was a highly creative endeavor.

Two students painting a bench to illustrate a book by one of the park’s authors.

For Story Land’s gala opening in May ‘98 it was decided that five students would become the five selected “authors” and each would dress as a character from their chosen author’s book. These role-playing “mini-authors” would be available in the park to talk to visitors about the books. (Each student prepared to act out one scene and one character from each book.) At the same time, the living authors – Doug Underhill, Michael Nowlan, Sheree Fitch, Keith Scott – were invited to attend the opening and meet their fans. Violet A. Gillett, a deceased writer and painter who had written and illustrated two New Brunswick classics, Where Wild Flowers Grow and In Fields and Woods, could only be admired through her work.

Miramichi writer Doug Underhill visits his park “corner” to meet a cat character from his book (right) and his mini-author (left).

In early May, 1998 two special community-school work days were held within the park: post holes were dug, cement was poured, trails were made tidy, authors’ “corners” were developed, interpretive signage erected, and benches painted. Every student in Gretna Green School was involved in some way.

At the same time preparations were underway for the Grand Opening. In New Brunswick spring is unpredicatable, so plans were made for indoor as well as outdoor activities. Cardboard refrigerator boxes were transformed into “mini-houses”, one for each of the five “mini-authors” to use for their performances in the school’s gym. The students in all grades created a great variety of art work for the gym, showing their class’ project involvement. Teachers who had kept photo-journals of their class work built a display of all these photos. The weather on May 26 was perfect, warm and sunny, for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony and to enjoy Story Land Park.

Author Michael Nowlan hugs one of his former teachers at the Story Land opening.

Several hundred guests - parents, students and community people - enjoyed Story Land, in nature and in the school. The four authors who attended had a great time. The 24 page program – its amusing cover designed and drawn by a student – was a tribute to the work by the school’s students with significant help from the community. Literacy and natural green space at Gretna Green Elementary School are a wonderful combination.

For more information about this project, you can contact Jill Stewart or Doris Jardine through their school’s number: 506-778-6099.