St. Anne Catholic School

In November 2021, St. Anne school entered into a formal partnership with the City of Oshawa, a designated Bee City, and worked together to apply and for community (TD Friends of the Environment) and School Board (Outdoor Education) funding to create a pollinator garden in Gulfstream Park, the local park that borders the school property. With this partnership, The Gulfstream Park Pollinator Garden Committee was formed comprising of school staff, City of Oshawa staff, community volunteers and 25 grade 6 and 7 student leaders. Students and school staff organized, prepared and led learning opportunities for the school community. With The City of Oshawa Parks Planning staff, students leaders also created garden design concepts and researched potential plants for the pollinator garden. With grant funding approval in April 2022, a planting date of October 2022 was set. On October 6, 2022, The Gulstream Park Pollinator Committee and the Parks City of Oshawa staff organized a Planting Day where representatives form each of St. Anne’s 31 classes (K-8) participated in planting 1100 pollinator plants in the Gulfstream Park Garden. From the beginning, this project has promoted student engagement and environmental stewardship. The community has become deeply committed to creating and preserving healthy pollinator habitats.