Students from Fort St. James Secondary School (FSJSS), alongside their Wood and Metal shop instructor Gary Soles, devised, built, and installed a recycling station at the local library.
The students also erected accompanying signage for the library. Moreover, they are presently engaged in establishing a permanent location for the library’s Seed Library and conserving a historic sign from the library’s original site in Spirit Square.
“We’re excited to continue this partnership with FSJSS’ Wood and Metal Shop students in the coming years,” remarked Fort St. James Public Library Director Valerie Crowley. “They consistently produce quality items and achieve beautiful results!”
The collaboration extended beyond the Wood and Metal Shop program. Instructors Andrew Vogelsang and Carla Martin’s classes contributed by crafting a new logo for the library, while Marnee Dinwoodie’s students added a lively wall mural to the Teen Area.
Reflecting on the project’s success, Crowley expressed her deep admiration for programs that are project-based and student-led, as they empower students to apply their learning in practical contexts.
The group’s contributions are visible throughout Fort St. James, significantly influencing the community’s aesthetic vision and promoting cohesion in various ways, Crowley added.
She also commended the practice of reinvesting all honorariums from the collaboration into future student learning, ensuring a sustainable cycle of community enrichment.
Soles’ program at the school prioritises STEM trades within the community. Soles said the shop program and projects are all student driven. The program also receives generous support from numerous local tradespeople and businesses, who willingly share their expertise with these G8-12 learners.
Soles said the student’s choose what it is they work on and what skills they wish to learn based on the STEM design process.
“In this particular case, the students chose to work on this community project for the library as they saw value in it,” he said.
The FSJSS trades students generally build numerous community projects throughout the year.
“This serves the purpose of giving them a real world, meaningful project to do, and also helps to generate revenue for our shop program to keep it free and accessible for all students,” he said.