Students As Wake Makers by Bradyn Lederer

Essential Question

How can understanding the history, present issues, and questioning what the future holds for the rivers and the water systems in Manitoba encourage students to become change makers?

Project Summary

This project invites students to build a relationship with the land and water around them in their community and beyond. Further, students will discover the historical and the relational significance water in Manitoba has for all groups of people. Students will discover through the inquiry process the issues that threaten the future of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers.

The purpose of this project is for students to experience nature, deepen their understanding and further develop their relationship with water in their community through experiential learning. An emphasis will be placed on the river’s past, present and what the future can look like with action taken. An issue of focus will be the sewage overflow and the outdated infrastructure that fails the rivers in Manitoba.

Proposed Order of Key Activities

1. Nature walks: Immersion into nature, finding inspiration for writing, questions and other forms of expression or ways to communicate their noticings.

2. Creation of expression: students can choose to follow a poem template, or choose to represent their valued thoughts in another form

3. Discussion: Students will have class and small group discussions concerning what water is, what it means to them, where we see water, and where water is in our community, etc.

4. River walk: Students will take two separate trips to the river. The first time, they will treat it like the nature walks and use it for inspiration for the creation of written expression.

5. Research: Students will discover the historical and present-day significance these waters have for the many different groups of people in Manitoba. Students will also discover the issues concerning the sewage overflow into our river systems (that they have deepened a relationship with since the start of this project).

6. River Walk: Upon returning to the river, the students may hold the passions about the river in a slightly different light. Students will record feelings and thoughts about how the river is being mistreated and use this to create an expression piece.

7. Expression piece: Students will refine their thoughts and create a piece that reflects their thoughts, understandings, and frustrations about the sewage in our rivers and how it affects the many different groups of people here in Manitoba. This art will be offered to the provincial government as a representation of the frustration Manitobans have towards this issue and it will serve as an invitation to start a conversation to make change.

The final expression piece will serve as an invitation for the Premier to prioritize proper sewage infrastructure and to represent Manitoba as a province that respects and prioritizes the important relationships we have with our waters.