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31 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 22, 2009 EARTHDAY Pair hope to make outdoor classroom a reality Continued from page 30 and we are going to pave it with permeable, interlocking brick as part of our green initiative, then we are going to irrigate it," Appleby said. "We're going to have a tree, fountains, a green roof on a shed, removable whiteboards, and in the spring and fall people are going to be able to sign it out and hold any type of class there." The idea has been simmering for a while. Appleby first dreamed up the project at the end of his Grade 9 school year. "I came up with the idea on my own and I've been working on this project with an association at our school called the Activism and Awareness Association," Appleby said. "There was an empty lot at our school that I thought was wasteful, so I organized a cleanup and since then I've developed it with contributions into creating an outdoor classroom." Appleby has been working with landscape instructor Conor Morris and Tracy Beck, who oversees the Activism and Awareness Association, to make the project a reality. The landscape depart- ment has been key in creating the design for the site. It will also ultimately be responsible for maintaining it. "White Oaks is a very good technical school, so our students are going to be building and maintaining this," said Appleby. "I think it will be good for students to see this. If they see what we did, maybe they'll be inspired to do something themselves." Appleby has been working to raise money for the project. He has received two grants from the Halton Learning Foundation and SpeakUp. There is also funding for irrigation. To date, he has $2,500 saved up for the project. However, Appleby said it will cost significantly more than that to build the outdoor classroom. The completion date is expected to be 2010, but if the pair took home the $10,000 prize, the $5,000 portion designated to the project means it could be completed and ready for students to use before the end of this school year. "With this extra money, we could probably have this done in a month and it would really improve the quality," Appleby said. Appleby was inspired to enter the Chartered Accountants of Ontario Save the World contest after one of the association's members visited White Oaks Secondary School. The student entered a 5,000-plus-word proposal that he said took a week of long hours to put together for the contest. He brought in Wheeler when he was informed at the end of March that he was a finalist. The competition required a two-person presentation. Appleby said he wanted no one else by his side than Wheeler, who is his girlfriend. "She did some editing, and some research for me, and the work she has been contributing has been exponential," he said. Wheeler's most significant contribution to the project is a computer-based 3D model of the outdoor classroom. The model was a labour of love for Wheeler, who learned how to use a computer design program while creating her masterpiece. "I spent a really long time on it because it was my first time using this program," she said. "To be honest, it looks fantastic and I'm really happy with it. I think it will have a great impact because visuals in presentations are always a great thing and they can see what we are trying to build. Even just showing it to our parents and friends, they get more excited about it because they see it can be a reality." The students said they hadn't really thought about how they would spend their half of the $5,000. Appleby said he'd like to use it to cover the cost of a school trip to Italy next year. Wheeler said she wanted to use it to pay back money owed to her parents, with the remainder likely being donated to the outdoor classroom. The winner of the Save the World contest was expected to be announced this afternoon (Wednesday). Check the next edition of The Oakville Beaver to see if the Oakville team took home the top prize. Appleby and Wheeler said if they do not win the contest, they will apply for more grants and start to do school fundraising to help raise the remainder of funds needed to turn Project Oasis into a reality. For information or to donate to Project Oasis, contact White Oaks Secondary School at 905-845-5200 and press 0 to speak to a member of school administration. Earth Week clean up at 34 sites on Saturday Organizers of the 18th annual Earth Day Clean Up in Oakville have selected 34 sites to be cleaned on Saturday, April 25. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Event coordinators will be at all locations with bags and a pair of gloves. Participants should bring their own pick-up stick, rake, broom or shovel. All 34 sites can be found at the website www.oakvillepeacecentre.org. "If you decide to organize a clean up in your neighbourhood that is not on our list of nature sites being cleaned up on Saturday, April 25 please contact us so that we can provide you with bags and gloves, as well as posters, to display in your neighbourhood to let people know that they can make a big difference for their backyard, their community and for the Earth by participating", added Mervyn Russell, chair of the cleanup. Residents can also contact Town Hall to receive bags and gloves. Participants are eligible to win a safety-first bicycle helmet.