The trip to the field gave the students the opportunity to see not only the process of combining but also the large fields of canola, whose revenue will be donated by Ducks Unlimited to help raise money for a new playground.
St. Augustine Principal, Cal Theisen, says it was important to be able to send the students out to the field to provide them with a first hand experience of what the fundraiser really was.
“They all know that we’re try to raise money for a new playground but I don’t think they necessarily connect the dots with how that’s being done so we explained to them how this all happened and they get to see how community can work together to achieve something.”
Dave Atamanchuk with Ducks Unlimited says bringing the kids to the fields taught them about the importance of community togetherness.
“To have the kids out here and experience what’s happening and how this had to come together, how many people and organizations were involved I think is so important for them to understand the importance of community working together and for us getting the message out about conservation.”
Theisen says it was also an opportunity for the kids to learn a little about harvest since not every students has that opportunity.
After being at the site grade five student, Sarah Keurvers, was really thankful to all the people who helped contribute to the fundraiser.
Keurvers says it was time for the school to get a new playground because the one that is there now is getting older and is not accessible to all the students.
“The big kids can’t play on it… but then the new one there’s lots of stuff that the older kids can play on.”
Atamanchuk says canola was a perfect choice for the crop grown in the fields since it is a great crop for weed management and control.
“It just works perfect with what we’re doing on our land and it’s the good cash crop that people can take home.”
The land has been donated to Ducks Unlimited as a new conservation project but it needed to be seed one last time. It was decided the revenue from the crop would be donated to St. Augustine.
Theisen and Atamanchuk both say they are hoping the crop, once sold, will raise approximately $25,000.
To this point Theisen says through various other fundraisers the school has raised approximately $50,000 towards the goal of $150,000, which means the crop could push the fundraiser over the halfway point.
The next planned fundraiser is set for Nov. 19 at the Uniplex and is a gala called “What’s that Tune?”
Theisen would like to reiterate his appreciation to everyone who has helped with the fundraisers so far.
“If you don’t have everybody on board it’s either not going to happen or you’re not going to make a whole lot of money and everybody was very supportive so we’re just extremely grateful for that.”
