Fall 2022
Posted by Justin Norris
The Sandbox Project was inspired by the students in Ms. A’s class at The Nature School at Kortright. Their curiosity sparked the project, and their passion drove them to take charge and come up with solutions to the problems that emerged along the way.
The Spark
While on our daily afternoon hike with the students, Ms. A, one of our educators, stopped by some tall grass, looking curious. “What are you looking for Ms. A?” asked N.
“There used to be a sandbox here,” Ms. A replied, “but all of these plants have grown over it. I can’t see it anymore.”
N shouted happily: “We’ll look for the sandbox!”
The children began wading through the tall grass. “All I found is dirt,” said N.
“Maybe it’s somewhere else?” suggested M.
“I found it, I found it” exclaimed C. All of the children ran quickly through the grass until they came to the mysterious pile. “SAND!”
“Let’s put it in our pockets to bring back to base camp,” said C. The children quickly began filling their pockets with handful after handful of sand.
“Can we get shovels and dig up the sand?” asked N.
The overgrown sandbox before the students began working on it.
The Process
It was clear that the students were interested in the old sandbox and enjoyed the opportunity to dig in it. Dealing with the overgrowth seemed like an almost impossible job – but they were up for it.
The first step was to clear out all of the tall plants that had grown over the old sandbox. To make the job a little easier we got some help from our friends from the Kortright Centre operations team. Using power tools, they quickly trimmed the area free of tall plants.
Before digging, we needed to plot out the sandbox area. So, we strung a rope around the area to indicate our work site.
Once that was done, the students assigned us a list of needed materials; shovels, rakes, gloves, and “snips”.
The next step was to clear out the rest of the plants, using our rakes and shovels to find the sand hiding underneath.
The children especially enjoyed being able to use the rake. “I like the way it rips out the grass”, said M.
“Using the rake is a lot of fun because I can pull lots of grass out at once,” added V.
Students at The Nature School working hard on their sandbox project.
Treasures in the Sand
Using the rake, we found some puffball mushrooms hidden under the grass. “They’re the size of my hand,” said N.
Next, we found some beetle insect larvae, which the children gently removed from the area to prevent them being harmed.
The largest of our discoveries was a tarp buried under the plants and dirt. “How are we going to get this out of here?” asked V. We left it up to the children to decide how to overcome this obstacle.
“I just have to pull really hard,” said M.
“No, we all have to pull it together,” countered N.
All of the students held firmly to the tarp with both hands. “Three, two, one, pull!”
The Result
After working all afternoon, the children were left with an area that was full of sand. They had done it!
Now they are able to come back to the area to admire their work and reap the benefits.
Success!
The next day, as a reward for all the teamwork, problem solving, and perseverance, The Nature School teachers gave the students a chance to “dig for gold”.
We painted rocks gold, added some plastic gold coins, and buried them all in the sandbox. Then we provided shovels and sand screens for the children to use on their treasure hunt. Soon enough, they struck gold!
What a great way to spend our time learning at The Nature School! Who knows what will spark our interest next?
Students at The Nature School working hard on their sandbox project.