Grounds for Change

North Central

School List

School Name	Project Description
Newbrook School Newbrook, AB Aspen View Regional Division No. 19	Project started 1999; work done by students with help from the community. Elements include murals, painted garbage cans, raised beds, stepping stones, bird houses etc.
Niton Central School Niton Junction, AB Grande Yellowhead Regional Division No. 35	Project plans were developed, and resulted in a fenced area planted with veggies and potatoes; gate makes the site accessible to the community, and they will help with the maintenance. The school hopes to add new elements to the project in the future.
John Paul II School Stony Plain, AB Evergreen Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 2	School has naturalized areas at front of the school; includes a rock amphitheatre made of different rocks (used for curriculum connections - Rocks and Minerals and upper grades too) see Material Suppliers below. School shares property with the City of Stony Plain
I.V. Macklin School Grande Prairie, AB Grande Prairie School District No. 2357	Small naturalized area that was installed 2003; includes native plants, raised beds and seating. School is working towards increasing teacher use of the site.

Board or District Details

Name	Board Activity
Northland School Division No. 61 www.northland61.ab.ca	Fort McKay School is interested in the concept; plans to start with native plant butterfly garden at the front of the school; St. Theresa School has a large area of trees ranging from pine to swamp, representing all the trees native to the area.
Aspen View Regional Division No. 19 www.aspenview.org	Newbrook School has a great greening project. Other schools in the division have expressed interest in their project; Newbrook may be able to set an example.
Grande Yellowhead Regional Division No. 35 www.gyrd.ab.ca	Niton Central School has a veggie garden in place, and has plans for new elements to be added.
Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 www.gppsd.ab.ca	I.V. Macklin Public School has a small naturalization project, no other activity at this time.
Holy Family Catholic Regional Division #37 www.hfcrd.ab.ca	Holy Family School and Rosary School are working on school greening projects (see North for details). St. Andrew's School and Ecole Providence have expressed an interest in the concept.
Grande Prairie Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 28 www.gpcsd.ca	Kateri Mission Catholic School very interested in the concept; parent group ready to begin planning process in the fall 2006.
Evergreen Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 2 www.ecsrd.ca	John Paul II School in Stony Plain has a naturalization project.

Ecosystem Information

Ecoregion	Description
Foothills	Along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain ecoregion is the Foothills natural region. Higher elevations are primarily white spruce, black spruce, lodgepole pine and occasionally subalpine fir. Lower areas are more mixed with the addition of deciduous species such as balsam poplar, trembling aspen, paper birch and balsam fir. (Click here for details on the Foothills Ecoregion)
Boreal	The Majority of the North Central district is comprised of the Boreal Forest natural region. The dominant vegetation is a mixture of coniferous and deciduous. Deciduous forest stand are more prominent in the southerly parts of this region, while coniferous species become more abundant further north. Common species include trembling aspen, balsam poplar, paper birch, white spruce and balsam fir. (Click here for details on the Boreal Ecoregion)
Rocky Mountain	There is a very small section of Rocky Mountain natural region in the southwest corner of the North Central district.Vegetation in this area is predominantly coniferous due to the cooler growing season and short frost free period. Dominant species include englemann spruce and alpine fir, Krummholz vegetation and above the tree line the dominant species is lichen. (Click here for details on the Rocky Mountain Ecoregion)
Parkland	In the Grand Prairie/Peace River area of this district there is a pocket of Parkland natural region. The forest stands of this subregion known as Peace River Parkland are virtually indistinguishable from those of the surrounding Mixedwood Boreal Forest. They include trembling aspen and white spruce, as well as, balsam poplar in wetter areas. The grasslands are dominated by sedges, oat grass, porcupine grass, wheatgrass, bluegrass, goldenrod and old man's whiskers. (Click here for more details on the Parkland Ecoregion)

Suppliers

Name	Services	Notes
Arrowhead Nurseries Edmonton, AB (780) 472-6260	Possible supplier for native plants.
PRT www.prt.com	Reforestation services and products. Has a nursery in Beaverlodge.	Possible source for plants and/or advice.
Rock Placement Company Edmonton, AB www.rockplacingco.com	Largest retailer of landscape boulders and supplies in Edmonton and the surrounding area; also slate, aggregates, mulches, soil and sand	Provided selection of rocks for John Paul II School amphitheatre in Stony Plain
Most garden centers will carry native species, even if they don't specialize. Also, see other regions for suppliers that may ship to you.

Naturalization Resources

Name	Services	Notes
City of Grande Prairie Parks Operations Grande Prairie, AB Duane Strawn , Manager of Parks and Lake Parks dstrawn@gptx.org	The city is interested in schools that are naturalizing or greening their grounds; may be able to help with mulch etc.
Margot Hervieux Grande Prairie, AB Margot.Hervieux@gov.ab.ca or (780) 538-5603	Margot would be interested in helping out with plant lists for schools and for teacher PD related to schoolyard naturalization. She is very well connected with the environmental community in this area, a great resource.	Margot is Visitor Services Specialist for the Grande Prairie Area (including Saskatoon Island Provincial Park) and is past president of Peace Parkland Naturalists.
Muskoseepi Park www.cityofgp.com Grande Prairie, AB	Maps are available for nature trails in the heart of the city, and interpretive programs are offered.	Great place for schools to see what native plants grow in their city.
Peace Parklands Naturalists peacenaturalists.fanweb.ca Grande Prairie, AB	See link for 'Local Natural History HotSpots' for information on the Grande Prairie Region. May also write letters of support for schools embarking on naturalization projects.	Margot Hervieux is also the contact for this group.

Funding Opportunities

Name	Services	Notes
City of Grande Prairie www.cityofgp.com Contact: Kirsten Maher, Community Recreation Coordinator at kmaher@cityofgp.com or (780) 538-0498.	Park Improvement Program. On their website search 'Park Improvement Program'	This program provides funds to assist community groups with the improvement and/or upgrade of parks and playgrounds; the program meets the City's corporate goal to promote the "healthy community" concept of neighborhood based initiatives. Approved projects have included rink hydrant installation, rink light installation, playground upgrades, trail/access improvements and horticultural enhancements. Funding normally ranges from $2,000 - $5,000.
ConocoPhillips Canada www.conocophillips.com	Community Investment Program On their website see 'Investing in Partners', then 'Community Investment'	They favour partnerships that meet the well-recognized needs of the community and beyond, such as broadly-based educational initiatives. Generally speaking, they support projects dealing with education and youth, the environment, safety and social issues, and civic matters and the arts. Support may involve a cash donation, in-kind contributions or the participation of volunteers. See their on-line application form.

Grande Prairie Forest Education Society www.gpforesteducation.org Contact: Deb Lucas, Forest Educator dlucasfe@telus.net or (780) 513-9799.	Schoolyard Naturescape Program	Began fall 2006; intent is to work with native species to develop permanent sites that will beautify, create shade and windbreaks, habitat for small wildlife etc.

Explore the websites of other major companies in your area, they often have community investment programs you may be able to access. To download a list of funding opportunities click here .