Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. I have been fortunate enough to have some serendipity in my life recently. Last weekend we had our annual buckthorn removal event. This is the third year of asking volunteers to come on a Saturday morning to cut and haul this invasive species from our school forest.

There are many issues with the buckthorn, including: thorns, it creates such a thick undergrowth that the forest becomes impassable and the diversity of other native plants is reduced. At my school we have around 40 buckthorn trees per acre of forest, more than double any other species. That’s a lot of buckthorn! This year, we focused our work on one particular section of the forest. The goal was to go for depth rather than breadth. I did not expect the results we got.

SO much buckthorn was removed that a new clearing was created. It also so happens that this particular section is directly across from the existing outdoor classroom, and directly behind the place where the new stage was scheduled to be installed. The picture can not do justice to truly how much new space there now is; and what perfect timing. I had just been communicating with my mentors at the Teachers Guild about my Design Project and how to move forward with the next step when this event occurred. Luckily, I work with some pretty amazing people who are willing to try something new, even last minute.

So Monday morning, I’ll be visiting a fifth grade classroom along with our building chief, a first grade teacher, a third grade teacher, parent and a member of the office staff. I’ll be facilitating a brainstorming session with the adults in front of the students on what we might do with this newly created space. Then, students will be contributing to the ideas as well. I have never done something like this, but I am eager to see how it plays out and what ideas are generated.