Today was the “Corvée du Mont-Royal” which is an event organized every year were people go to our beloved Mount-Royal, pick up trash, write down notes on erosion and tree health and other fun things. Last year, I was really excited about it and wanted to participate with my students. However, since negotiations between teachers and the government were starting, I was told that I couldn’t organize any activity at all. Deception. Well this year, the student council organized it! How fun!
Our guide explained what we were looking for (trash or any object that does not belong in nature), gave us gloves and even provided with granola bars. Amazing! I was really happy with our team: the students were really fun and interesting, were super motivated and were just, well, happy. It was really nice to see that they were willing to come on a ped-day (no classes, but teachers come in) to go clean up nature. Once again, I was happily surprised with their enthusiasm and energy. It was also a great change of pace to see students outside of the classroom and to be outside with them.
It was a great day outside! The weather was perfect, and we found a lot of stuff, including these wood pallets! How strange! We also found pieces of metal banister that weighted a ton and made us wonder why and how it got hauled up to the mountain (it was a pain to haul down by the way), chairs, a gazillion beer bottles, a 1996 Orange Crush bottle, and a million plastic bottles and bags. It was quite astounding to see how much stuff is left behind by people and how much of the trash is actually recyclable.
It was so much fun to be outside, to do something good for a Montreal landmark, to interact with students in a relaxed setting and to move a little bit. I really hope to participate in more events like this one because it was great! Let me know if you have something similar going on in your area!
My Lighthearted Kitchen 