Grandview ?Uuqinak'uuh School

Location

2055 Woodland Dr

Vancouver, BC

Canada

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Completion date:
1999- 2000
Site/ building area:
4,000 m2
Budget
$350,000
Certifications & Awards
  • 2002: Environmental Design Award, British Columbia Landscape and Nursery Association
  • 2002: Award of Excellence, Toyota, Evergreen Learning Grounds
Project Team
  • Owner: Grandview ?Uuqinak'uuh Elementary School, Vancouver School Board (VSB)
  • Structural Enginner: VSB
  • Mechanical Engineer: VSB
  • Electrical Engineer: VSB
  • Energy: VSB
  • Landscape Architect: Tracey Penner

Summary

Key Sustainability Features:

  • Student literacy rates in Grade 1 have climbed from 10 percent to 60 percent
  • Between 1997-2000 the community raised $700,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to support new programs

With the help of dedicated faculty, students and parents, Grandview ?Uuqinak'uuh School proudly supports unique social and environmental programs for an extremely diverse school and its surrounding community. Of particular interest is Grandview's dedication to bringing education out of the classroom and into the outdoors as a way of fostering stewardship of place, bringing beauty and ownership to the community centre, and providing a hands-on teaching tool to students. Urban gardens, designed, planted and tended by students and community members have taken over neglected space surrounding the school. 

The 'Spirit of Nature' gardens include a one acre school yard that includes a children's food garden, hummingbird and butterfly habitat, stormwater swales, and a large community garden. Due to a large Aboriginal Canadian population, an ethno-botanical garden was dedicated to plants traditionally used within this culture, and is also used as a longhouse outdoor classroom.

The most recent addition to the garden is a hand-built cob tool shed. A result of coordinated efforts on the part of the UBC Engineering Department, community members, and school children, the tool shed brought a new wave of curiosity and enthusiastic participation to Grandview's outdoor space.

Since its inception, the program has been recognized by various organizations for its role in bringing life back to an often marginalized community. The attention to community outreach and intergenerational opportunities has reversed otherwise negative student behavior and bolstered inter-community relationships. The school program has also increased biodiversity and natural beauty in the inner-city.

Food growing opportunities support the ability of community members to supply themselves with nutritious food. Community-maintained gardens also cut down on the costs associated with outdoor maintenance services.

www.grandview.vsb.bc.ca

Tours: not available

 

This post was imported from the 'Greater Vancouver Green Guide', it's part of the 'Green Guide Portal' to the Green Building Brain