Hagersville Secondary Students Connect Land-Based Learning to Current Issues

Wednesday, Jun 10, 2026
Land-based Learning 2026


Last month, students in the Land-Based Learning program at Hagersville Secondary School marked Red Dress Day by dispersing wildflower seeds — packaged symbolically in eco-friendly seed paper made to look like tiny red dresses — and by planting strawberries, with a harvest that will coincide with National Indigenous Peoples Day later this month. This hands-on learning activity offered a way to take action and spread awareness around Red Dress Day, and reflect on resilience and growth while connecting to Indigenous teachings rooted in the land.

Land-based learning, June 2026


"The Land-Based Learning program was designed to include meaningful learning opportunities that revolve around the moon cycles, and the moon that lines up with June is the strawberry moon," said Jessa Laight, educator in the Land-Based Learning program, pointing out its significance to both the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinaabe lunar calendars as a sacred time of the year. "Not only are strawberries significant to our communities, but through planting the strawberries, students have been learning about the scientific aspects applicable to growing them including the role of nitrogen, Three Sisters companion planting, sustainable practices, and how climate change is impacting our communities."

Red Dress Day honours missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people and serves as a call for action. For students in the program, the wildflower and strawberry planting offered a visible way to honour Mother Earth through sustainable, non-invasive practices.

Land-based Learning, June 2026


This is one of the days where we take action in memory of missing and murdered Indigenous girls, women and two-spirit people, and honour who they were," said Michael, a Grade 9 student in the program. "So we made red dresses with seeds in them and planted them on the school property, and what happens next is, hopefully, beautiful flowers will grow from them."

As the flowers and strawberries continue to grow in the coming weeks, students will continue learning about the interconnected relationship between the land, its changing seasons, and community well-being, with the eventual harvest serving as a symbol of positive growth rooted in both learning and tradition.

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