November 8, 2011

To view pictures set to music of the Stream of Dreams, click here

Orchard Park Public School students spent last Thursday (Nov. 3) stacking and then tying wooden fish cut-outs, called Dreamfish, onto to a school fence, as part of the Stream of Dreams initiative.

Stream of Dreams is a program run by Conservation Halton. Dreamfish are fish shapes cut from plywood and painted in imaginative colours and designs by elementary school children and other program participants. These dreamfish are then mounted on a chainlink fence to create a mural, which serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting water sources.

Stream of Dreams instructors from Conservation Halton present watershed education workshops to participants. The focus of the program is about the stewardship of water as a resource, the interdependence of all living things, and the role people can play in protecting water and the living things in it.  Students learn where storm drains lead, what ground water is and how the choices they make daily can effect the soil, our streams and all living things. 

The program originated in British Columbia where a small community had its water contaminated by the careless disposal of toxins.

The school participated in the Stream of Dreams because the beauty of this installation in other public spaces and it wanted to be part of learning more about protecting water as a resource, said teacher Valerie Martin.

“We hope the students learn how to make good choices related to the use and disposal of toxins,” Martin said.