The Mural Project at Rogers

You may have noticed some changes to the front cement walls of our school!  Up until the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year we had greenery growing on the cement wall at the front of Rogers. But it has been removed and for good reason.  An exciting "Mural Project" has begun. Over the next six month, the school and school community will be engaged in the "Mural Project"!

First of all, the green and growing part of the wall was not a good thing.  Many of you will know this plant was English ivy, but what you might not know is that it is a serious invasive plant in our region – and is a big risk to the rare Garry Oak Ecosystems beside Rogers on Christmas Hill.  English ivy takes over ecosystems in our region, eliminating native plants and habitat for wildlife, covering trees and eventually destroying them.  (In addition, the ivy berries are toxic if ingested by humans.)

At Rogers School,  our belief is, “We care about ourselves, each other and this place”.  With this belief in mind for everything that we do, we aim to be good stewards of the natural environment. We are fortunate to have our school next to a very special ecosystem which is one of the most endangered in Canada. And thus, it is our job to take care of that precious ecosystem.

The English ivy has now been removed from the cement walls, to grow no more.  The exciting part is engaging our school and community in a celebration of Garry oak ecosystems  as murals are created on these walls. We will be working with artists and community partners so that environmental education programs, community building and mural painting can unfold through the spring and into the summer of 2013!

(For more information about invasive plants and English Ivy: http://www.saanich.ca/living/natural/stewardship/invasive.html?ref=shortURL and for more information about Garry Oak Ecosystems: www.goert.ca)

Or visit the foyer at Rogers to see the display. Thanks to Carolyn R for helping us to learn more about this important topic.