Surrey elementary teacher wins national award<\/p>\n
Published 10:30 am Monday, October 26, 2026<\/p>\n
Ray Shepherd Elementary school teacher Ellen Petterson has earned the Susan Langley Earth Steward Teaching Award. <\/p>\n
This is a national honour from Learning for a Sustainable Future that recognizes contributions to sustainability education in Canada. <\/p>\n
Surrey Schools shared the news of Petersson\u2019s achievement on their website where they explained that for the past six years Petersson\u2019s kindergarten students have spent part of every school day in the forest beside their South Surrey school, rain or shine. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople often ask me what we do in the forest every day,\u201d said Petersson. \u201cThe truth is that we do everything.\u201d <\/p>\n
Surrey Schools explained that Petersson\u2019s kindergarten classes use pinecones to practice math, make art with leaves on the ground, learn about the weather and the changing of season, study science by watching insects and a handful more. <\/p>\n
All in which Petersson described her students are tackling classroom curriculum in a completely natural setting. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt five-years-old, children may not yet understand climate change, biodiversity loss or sustainability in the way adults do. But they absolutely understand wonder, they understand curiosity and they understand caring for a place they love,\u201d said Petersson. <\/p>\n
Petersson shared with Surrey Schools that she can trace her belief back to her own childhood experience of camping and exploring forests with her parents. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf a child grows up remembering the forest as a place of joy, belonging and discovery, then they will be far more likely to protect it in the future,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
According to Surrey Schools, the program has also drawn in the wider local community. <\/p>\n