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(Image Credit: SD23)
By Vernon Matters staff
partnership

OC trades students make special space at local school

Jul 6, 2026 | 6:01 PM

A patch of unused school ground at North Glenmore Elementary School has been turned into a vibrant outdoor learning garden.

Teacher Erin Burton secured funding through the BC Parks Foundation’s Learning by Nature Program and turned to the Trades and Apprenticeship Department at Okanagan College (OC) to make it happen.

More than 30 of OC’s Trades Sampler students — high school students from School District 23 (SD23) exploring careers in construction and other skilled trades — spent two and a half days at the elementary school in Kelowna, working side by side with more than 50 kindergarten to grade three students.

The unused space is now a vibrant area for activity and exploration
The unused space is now a vibrant area for activity and exploration

The finished space features garden beds for Indigenous plants, a seating area and bird, bee and butterfly houses crafted from fallen logs, all built with young hands under the careful guidance of OC instructors and their teenage students.

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Before arriving at the school, the OC students prepared more than 50 fallen logs and pre-cut and pre-drilled several wildlife houses. When they arrived at the elementary school, they also came ready to roll up their sleeves and pass along their learnings.

To learn more about the Trades and Apprenticeship programs, including the Trades Sampler programs at Okanagan College, visit okanagancollege.ca/trades.

by Vernon Matters staff
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