Outdoor classroom rebuilt after Fiona becomes tribute to late teacher 

Kindergarten teacher Linda Roach was known for her love of the outdoors and for being active. 

When the outdoor classroom at Vernon River Consolidated School in eastern Prince Edward Island was destroyed by falling trees during post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022, Roach was determined to rebuild it.

She had helped to create the original classroom, so along with physical education teacher Sarah Adams, she put together a proposal and the school received provincial funding. 

"We really felt the loss of this classroom after Fiona had taken down lots of trees, and we weren't using this space," Adams said.  

"Our kids love being outside. We've got kids who build forts. They climb trees. They live for the outdoors," Adams said. "We really wanted to create kind of a designated space that was purposeful, where teachers could take children outside to really engage in some hands-on experiential learning opportunities."

But Roach passed away in December 2023, before the project could be carried out, leaving colleagues, students and local families to mourn her loss. 

"Trying to take it on, and keep her vision and my vision together without her here, has been quite difficult," Adams said. 

"But we've had so many people step up and support that. So I think she'd be proud."

Six months after Roach's death, the school and the entire community have rallied to finish the outdoor classroom. 

And it has blossomed into an even bigger project, with a community garden, medicine wheel garden, and more. 

"Our project really kind of took on a new life. A lot of people from the community... were reaching out, wanting to help out," said principal Dave Wood. "Our home and school [association] joined in. People from the community have joined in. We've gotten great support." 

He said being out in the fresh air was important to Roach, who had training as a hunter and trapper.

"She felt connecting with outside was really important — learning about the environment, learning about all the world around us," Wood said.

"It was kind of neat for a kindergarten teacher to really want to expose children to that. She wanted to get away from the screens and she wanted the kids to be outside and learning and playing."