A Grade 1 class at Ralph McCall School is considering creative solutions to enhance the Airdrie Water Tower, which was recently designated a historic resource by the Airdrie City Council, as part of a social studies project spearheaded by student teacher Nadine Storrier.
According to Denise Stanger, Grade 1 teacher at Ralph McCall School, Storrier came up with the project as part of her practicum in her final weeks with the class after reading an article about Airdrie City council’s decision to preserve the Airdrie Water Tower as a historical resource.
Storrier, who lived in Airdrie for 22 years, said she likes to keep up with what’s happening in the community and heard about council’s Feb. 7 decision to incorporate makerspace, art, culture, and historical elements to the area around the water tower.
“[At the time], I was also taking classes and thinking about how to design learning experiences for students that are meaningful and authentic,” she said. “I read [council] had decided to keep the water tower but still needed to figure out what to do with the space. [They were] talking about place-making ideas.”
She added she thought the class project would tie in perfectly with Alberta Education's Grade 1 social studies and science curricula which look at community and building, respectively.
Throughout the semester, both Storrier and Stanger have been teaching their students about the various communities they are each a part of.
“We start with family and classrooms and then eventually we get to their bigger communities,” Stanger explained.
She added as part of their effort to teach the students about the wider community, they tasked each of them with taking a photo in front of their favourite Airdrie landmark, and many of the kids happened to choose the water tower.
“The students actually tackled the idea of what they could do with the Airdrie Water Tower from a perspective of the community and what would be beneficial for the community,” Storrier said. “They built dioramas to demonstrate what it might look like, so it was a bit of an interdisciplinary project.”
Over the last few weeks, the students have been working to come up with creative solutions for the tower's future. Each group of students was given a project board to portray their vision of the water tower and the surrounding area, with an emphasis on the surrounding landscape.
“They had to really think of the area around [the water tower] and what they thought they could do with it,” Stanger said, adding the students added their ideas to a diorama featuring a makeshift water tower.
She said the project was aimed at highlighting their interest in local landmarks and current events, with a tie-in to the class’s building science unit.
Student Claire Hullah said she and her group constructed a play area including an airplane where children could play, along with a reading area in the shape of a teepee with flowers planted around it. Hullah and her team also dreamt up an idea for a community orchard.
Fellow student Ivy Clelland said she and her group came up with an idea for a dog park neighboured by a café for pups and people to hang out.
“She was concerned about lighting in the evening. She thought it should be lit up so everything looks beautiful,” Storrier said. “Her team made a greenhouse with flowers inside of it and it lights up the whole area.”
Finally, student Ben Hamilton and his team made a zip line that goes all the way across the property and includes two hot tubs alongside another smaller water tower to store water for a nearby flower garden.
“All of them worked in a team, which was a huge outcome with learning to be collaborative and problem-solving together,” Storrier said. She added the project has given the students an opportunity to have their voices heard about what they’d like to see in their community.
“I think it is really important that they have a voice, that adults care about what they have to say, and they can make a difference in their community now and in the future,” Storrier said. “They don’t even have to wait until they’re adults. People are listening to them now.
“I think that’s very powerful to have that experience when you’re young.”
The class is scheduled to present the results of the project to Coun. Tina Petrow on April 13.
