Chippewa students put theory to practice

Thanks to a ministry grant from the Ministry of Education landscaping students in Todd Bradley’s class at Chippewa Secondary are putting theory to practice this spring and sprucing up the school at the same time.

The project, which is a hands on approach providing a framework and knowledge base for students to explore the landscape trade, is the only one in Northern Ontario in fact only 15 programs are running in Ontario and Bradley says it changes the whole scope of teaching his students.

“Everyone wants to be outside doing things or wants the hands on approach to learning so this is the perfect environment for it. Not everyone can learn out of a text book or learn on their own they need to be doing things and putting theory into practice and this is an ideal course for people who like working with their hands and working outside.”

“Getting the money allows us to put what we practice into reality, so without getting money from the government the $1500 dollars and the rest from our school board we’d be stuck inside a shop with the best of our ability making landscaping work but without being able to get outside you can’t really landscape. “

“We can practice and we can do things in theory but until you get the hands on which requires money it is hard to give them the real experience of what we can do. And at the end of the project there is a beautiful product and satisfies the different approaches to learning.”

The project involves the senior class replacing over 800 square feet of older concrete at the school’s main entrance with an attractive new interlocking brick path and at the same time the students are not learning techniques and earning valuable practical experience.

“Well it is more than just knowledge that if they apply for a job whether it is through the city or the other big landscape companies in town that they have a bit of a base and a bit of knowledge that most people won’t have,” explains Bradley.

“They will know how to run a wet saw how to run a tamper they will know how to level ... it may not be perfect but they have at least a base that can then get ahead of some of their competition.”

Bradley also notes that with a solid base the students can venture into the world of business.

“If nothing else they will have the knowledge to go home and landscape their own place or their parents place and save them some money, so if you can do some things yourself and do it well there’s a niche there.”

Bradley says he is proud of the work the students have accomplished and says the ability to offer the practical experience has made the class very popular.

“We are lucky and fortunate to have a school board that wants to start a program with teachers and students who want to be part of it. And hopefully we can make it run and grow over the next couple of years.”