École catholique Felix-Ricard, the winner of the 2010 Ugliest Schoolyard Contest, won't be worthy of the award much longer.
Improvements have already been made to the Lasalle Boulevard elementary school's yard. The Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee (Vetac) collected $25,000 in donations from local businesses to help rehabilitate the ugliest schoolyard in Greater Sudbury.
While staff and students were away on summer break, twelve large trees were planted, and topsoil was spread over the yard. Picnic tables and park benches have been ordered, and they will be installed soon as well. Now that classes are back in session, students will help lay sod and plant shrubs and perennials to finish the makeover.
The principal at Felix-Ricard, Francine Galipeau-Belair, said the improvements being made to the schoolyard are “absolutely wonderful.”
She said prior to the contest, the schoolyard was mainly pavement and gravel. In the near future, she said students will be able to play in grassy areas that are shaded by the new trees.
During warmer months, teachers will be able to utilize the picnic tables and benches for outdoor reading classes too, Galipeau-Belair added.
“It's also very good for the community, because the school is used by the community a lot,” she noted, since there is a baseball field at the school.
Greater Sudbury's Ugliest Schoolyard Contest has run since 2005. Schools work with a landscape designer to build a plan and the Sudbury Master Gardeners and Sudbury Horticultural Society help select suitable plants for each yard.
