Planting Dreams Program                The Planting Dreams Program, established in 1999-2000, is a community-based partnership between Weyerhaeuser in Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Community Schools Association (SCSA).  The Planting Dreams Program is committed to helping children within community schools who have been identified as being most in need. For every seedling Weyerhaeuser plants throughout Saskatchewan, a donation is made to the Planting Dreams Program Fund.  On average, Weyerhaeuser plants six million spruce and pine seedlings a year in northern Saskatchewan.  The funds from these donations are used to support community school programs in Saskatchewan.  Special emphasis is placed on pre-kindergarten initiatives as well as cultural awareness and other special projects. Since the creation of the Planting Dreams Program, Weyerhaeuser has donated approximately $100,000 annually.  Weyerhaeuser has been prudent and played a quiescent role in the early operation of the program.  The program has been administered by teachers and school administrators through a committee overseen by the SCSA. Pre-Kindergarten Readiness to Learn Backpack Project Aside from general funding provided, the major initiative that has had significant impact is the Readiness to Learn Backpack Project.  This project enables children to borrow backpacks filled with books, toys, games and other activity materials that support early learning and pre-literacy skills.  Each backpack has a theme, e.g. insects and spiders, letters and numbers, farm animals and nutrition. The response to the backpack project has been very favourable.  Positive reports from teachers reflect upon the high educational content of the backpacks and families have had greater opportunities for interaction.  The project reaches beyond the few hours a day that the children spend in pre-kindergarten and makes an impact at home, where children spend most of their time (source: Community Schools Review and Business Case Study, 2003 prepared by Dean Garnet Garven). The Readiness To Learn Backpack Program is available in over 80 community schools province-wide.  It continues to expand and has become a model for other jurisdictions in the province and beyond. Aside from the backpack project, other programs have been undertaken with Planting Dreams Program Funds.  In 2000, Weyerhaeuser provided the financial expertise and resources to promote the SCSA.  Promotional materials, which are now available in all community schools, include logos, brochures, flyers and a PowerPoint presentation providing quick information on Saskatchewan's community schools.  In 2002, funds were also used to support cultural events and activities in community schools. The Planting Dreams Program has been a great success. The Community Schools Review and Business Case Study, 2003, indicated that the Planting Dreams Program appears to have met or exceeded expectations for most stakeholders. Two recommendations stemming from the Case Study suggest: Weyerhaeuser Saskatchewan should maintain its support for community schools through the Planting Dreams Program. SCSA should endeavor to increase the awareness of the Planting Dreams Program.   Teen Parent Daycare Backpack Initiative

Building on the success of the Readiness to Learn Backpack Project, the SCSA Executive decided to expand this project to include preparing backpacks for teen parents using daycares at community schools in the spring of 2005. These backpacks include developmentally appropriate toys, board books, music and parent support material (for information on selected items included in the backpacks go to “Resources” in this website and click on “Teen Parent Resources”).  Six different backpacks are being prepared for each of the 12 community schools which have daycares for teen parents. SaskEnergy has joined Weyerhaeuser as a partner in this enterprise by donating all the backpacks needed. It is expected that these backpacks will be distributed before the end of the 2005-06 school year.

In addition, Planting Dreams Program funds have been put to good use training community school parents and staff in the area of family literacy. In a unique partnership with Saskatchewan Learning, the SCSA has been able to provide a wide variety of family literacy training programs facilitated by the Saskatchewan Literacy Network.  As well as training, the Planting Dreams Project fund is assisting community schools as they purchase books and other materials to support their family literacy programs. For more information on this, please click on “Conferences, Professional Development”.