By Neva Whintors, teacher, Surrey
I gratefully acknowledge that I work and learn on the shared traditional and unceded territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, and Semiamhoo First Nations. It is this land that moulds our behaviours, practices, relationships, and social interactions. (1)
This is the story of a school that has been guided on a three-year journey by Dr. Cher Hill and Elder Rick Bailey; a journey in learning to care for salmon like family.
I began working with Dr. Hill, from Simon Fraser University, in 2020. She was working with Councillor Rick Bailey from the Katzie Nation and wanted to support our students in learning to care for salmon. Every Thursday for three years Dr. Hill came to Maddaugh Elementary to support myself and Dorothy Smithson, my good friend and colleague, in outdoor education with our classes. We engaged in land-based learning with students, allowing them to pursue inquiry related to their passions and deepen their understandings of Indigenous knowledges. Dr. Hill supported this work by bringing in Indigenous Elders, storytellers, and drummers.
Elder Rick Bailey had a dream to inspire children, our next generation, to care for salmon like family. He shared his passion and stories with children during each visit to our school. This took learning off the page and into the hearts and minds of children. His stories and passion inspired Maddaugh students to care deeply for salmon and the land that we live upon.
Each year we watch the salmon spawn and release salmon to build connection with our keystone species. We have also planted a total of 522 trees in Campbell Valley and Kanaka Creek over the last two years, and we commit weekly to picking up garbage around our school and the creek that borders it to protect the water ways for salmon. Children take on their own ideas of how to care for salmon. They share knowledge with their families, and parents often email me to share how their children have orchestrated a weekend family trip to local parks and streams to visit salmon-bearing streams.
Elder Rick Bailey says, “If you call something yours, you have to take care of it.” With these words, the concept of salmon as family allowed salmon to swim in the hearts and minds of our students, and inspired our Maddaugh street art.
Our school community follows a social-emotional well-being philosophy based on the theory of PERMA: positive emotion, engagement, relationship, meaning, and achievement. A Grade 7 student of Maddaugh Elementary had been part of a cohort of students working on “living in their strengths in new and novel ways.” This student had a dream to paint street art. They had been working on painting small projects and yearning to paint something big that would make a difference. There were three cement embankments outside of our school marking the end of the road and the entrance to our school. Our principal suggested we submit a request to paint the cement embankments. We applied to the City of Surrey, and it was approved! We had now found the canvas for this student-artist to live in their strength, to paint something big, to make a difference!
The student-artist met with primary students and brainstormed a vision for the art. They wanted to share one of the teachings we have learned from observing salmon—to never give up! Together classes went outside to paint near the cement embankments that are bordered by tall, wild grass surrounding a salmon-bearing stream. On reams of white roll paper every student painted aspects of the environment and on every primary student’s masterpiece they chose to include salmon!
I had met Ryan Hughes, an Indigenous artist from the Snuneymuxw Nation, at a pow-wow at the beginning of the school year, and I knew he would be able to support the student-artist to bring this work to life. Hughes made many visits to Maddaugh. He shared how he connected to the land through the raven, the trickster, who loved to have fun, to laugh, and to find joy. On Earth Day Hughes presented to nine classes, and their families, and talked about how he connects to the land and shares this connection through art. For Hughes, learning with books and paper lessons did not come alive in his heart and mind until he began to express his understanding through art.
Together Hughes and the student-artist met with the primary students, who shared their paintings and ideas for the street art. They enlisted the help of a good friend of the student-artist, and the three of them drew the image that is painted on the embankments, a representation of the school’s learning and philosophy. With the support and encouragement of our entire school population, they painted a message that reflects our Maddaugh community.
The Never Give Up mural welcomes hundreds of families each and every day to our school. Like all good learning, the mural holds within it many stories from our school community. It brings to life a Grade 7 student’s vision. It is the culmination of the endless hours Dr. Cher Hill has engaged in learning and teaching our school community to build relation and care for the land. The art showcases the teachings of Councillor and Elder Rick Bailey, to care for salmon, the keystone species of this land, like family. Embedded in this art is the vision and passion of Indigenous artist Ryan Hughes from Snuneymuxw Nation and his collaborative work with the student-artist and hundreds of Maddaugh students to see the raven, the trickster, and bring his love of life into all we do. The mural is a representation of the passions and artwork of hundreds of primary students who supported this collective vision. It highlights the work of our dedicated Maddaugh educators, supported by a principal who understands learning does not come alive for everyone in the same way. Embedded in this mural is the notion we all need to push ourselves to live into our strengths in new and novel ways and to support our students to live into their strengths. It is a reminder to everyone to Never Give Up!
Contributing grants
This work was made possible by grants from the BCTF Aboriginal Initiative Grant, the SD36 Indigenous Learning Grant, a Surrey Teachers’ Association grant, and the City of Surrey Small Project Grant.
1 D. Cuddworth and R. Lumber, “The importance of forest school and the pathways to nature connection,” Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 2021, 24(1), p. 71–85.