On November 21 st a group of Grade 11 science students from Pleasant Valley Secondary
School traded their classroom for a walk to the wetlands — learning first-hand about one of
Armstrong’s most important ecosystems. Their destination was a small wetland along Okanagan
Street in downtown Armstrong and the site of an enhancement project by the City of Armstrong
and the Armstrong Wetlands Association (AWA). The student visit was organized by their
teacher Luke Harding from Pleasant Valley Secondary School and biologist Michele Hill of the
AWA.
After answering some insightful student questions about the wetland’s role in the local
environment, Hill shared details of the AWA’s plans to enhance the Okanagan Street site and
increase biodiversity with features like a pond and hummock. “This wetland is currently
dominated by densely packed cattails. Creating open water and varying the topography should
attract more bird and amphibian species,” she explained. Opportunities for student participation
in the project were also discussed. The AWA will be enlisting student and community help when
it’s time to plant the hummock and other disturbed soils with native grasses, trees and shrubs in
the spring and summer of 2025.
As part of the visit, some students ventured into the boggy terrain to walk the perimeter of the
planned pond excavation. Future class visits were planned for the following spring with the
expressed hope of seeing some of the new landscape features in place.
Left to right: Brendan Woodrow, Nevaeh Drake, Michele Hill, Anna Sulz, Kris Bourgh and Luke Harding