During Ontario Public Library Week, I had the joy of sharing This is the Boat that Ben Built with grades 2-4 at Russell Public School, by way of invitation from the Township of Russell Public Library, with coordination support by MASC.

What was especially great about this visit was that the students were already very familiar with river ecosystems given their proximity to the Castor River (which, coincidentally, is French for “beaver” — an animal that appears in the story!). They were quick to point out a variety of essential living and nonliving ecosystem components that Maggie represented in her illustrations: cattails, lily pads, rocks, sand, and butterflies, among others.

The Castor River is right across the street from Russell Public School.

They also knew many of the fish that could be found in a river. The school had previously worked with South Nation Conservation on a Stream of Dreams “Fish on Fences” environmental education and community art project, learning about the watershed and producing this beautiful mural that wraps around the property much further than my camera could capture:

Stream of Dreams mural. Look at all those beautiful fish!

It was a pleasure to read with you, Russell Public School, and a joy to see how you are learning about and caring for the watershed. Thanks for inviting me!