Nature’s wonders on display at Royal Botanical Gardens

On Friday, October 4, Chisholm Academy students from Grades 6 to 8 went on a field trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Burlington. At the RBG, students learned about the different plant life in the area, and also played some really fun and educational games. The students had some great tour guides, like Megan, who led my particular group.

 The tour guides showed students some amazing, beautiful plants and trees, and thankfully nobody caught poison ivy. These specimens included some ancient trees that have been around since the dinosaur age, ones with wacky shapes, and even a tree whose leaves smell like gum or chocolate.

Tour guides also introduced the group to several educational games, including “Oh Deer,” a game where half the students pretended to be important natural resources while the other half were deer who ran at them, trying to collect those natural resources to survive.

Students also played a game called “Wild,” which involved picture cards of different wild animals. Students learned the difference between predators and prey by comparing cards.

At noon, the students had lunch and, for the rest of the afternoon, walked around, crossed bridges, learned about plants and wildlife, and even climbed up an old watch tower.

The wonderful trip ended in the Visitor Centre, the home of the “painted turtle,” so called because of its colourful shell and skin. My tour guide, Megan, brought out the small painted turtle, named “Colorado,” for the students to see, and, if they were brave enough, even to touch. 

The field trip then came to an end and everybody boarded the school bus to head back to Chisholm. It was certainly a field trip to remember.

Dylan F.
Grade 7 Student