The Journey of a Drop of Water
Environmental lead and horticulturalist Patricia Hanbidge has created a unique program at Shawnigan designed to get students thinking about water on the School campus in its many functions – potable water, irrigation, wastewater – and how that relates to the issue of climate change. As the program launches, Ms. Hanbidge explains the motivation behind this program and what she hopes to accomplish.
The Sociology of Climate Change is the overall umbrella of a unique curriculum that we rolled out in spring 2024, examining how all of us at Shawnigan impact climate change and beginning the conversation on how we at Shawnigan can help alleviate some of those changes.
The curriculum includes many important experiential learning sessions to all students in Grades 8, 9 and 10. When I first came to Shawnigan, I had a conversation with the operations department about how important it is for all of the students and all of the staff to gain knowledge, understand, and be thoughtful about the infrastructure and the work behind the scenes that goes into making sure that the School operates well. We thought that it was appropriate to focus first on the journey of a drop of water at Shawnigan.
Bringing this program to fruition involved the work of several divisions and individuals, including myself, Operations, the Career Life department, and the leaders of our experiential education programs. Career Life found space in the Grade 8 curriculum, and that quickly expanded to include time for Grade 9 and 10 students, ensuring that this hugely important curriculum is shared appropriately with as many students as possible.
With the groundwork established, I wrote the curriculum, put together a PowerPoint presentation, and built some appropriate activities that would be needed to ensure success and ease the load of teachers by helping provide some expertise on the topic.
The focus for 2024 has been The Journey of a Drop of Water at SLS. Participants spend time doing activities at all the places where the water goes at the School: at the well head, where we get our potable water, and down by the lake where we get our irrigation water and the water that runs our fire suppression system. From here we explore how the water gets to all the buildings on campus and then follow the path where the wastewater goes. Our final stop is the two catchment ponds on campus and where the water goes from there. This is a unique program and we are excited to help ensure that our students are appropriately and adequately prepared for life after Shawnigan and that they have mastered the skills and knowledge to lead our world in a better direction.
Please click here for more about Shawnigan’s environmental initiatives and experiential learning programs.
Patricia Hanbidge is Shawnigan Lake School's Environmental Lead and Horticulturalist. She has worked extensively around the world, helping people develop food sovereignty, enhance food security, and build more sustainable communities.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
