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Lucija Rolfe-Maric's grade 10 passion project 

About me 

My name is Lucija Rolfe-Maric, and I am a grade 10 student at Balmoral Hall. I came to BH in child care when I was 2 years old.  Outside of school, I love to do track and field and spend time with my family and my friends. Growing up in Balmoral Hall, I always heard about the grade 10 passion project, and I've always looked forward to doing it.

This passion project is important to me because it allows me to combine things I truly care about. I love plants, and I also care about making a positive impact on others. Through this project, I want to create something meaningful and do something good that benefits people.

What is a Passion Project? 

A passion project is a requirement for all grade 10 students at Balmoral Hall. The grade 10 students get to choose a topic that they are passionate about and spend the whole year working on a project that they will present and show what they did at the end of the year. Through this process, students get to focus on learning more about their passion, exploring it in greater depth, and developing new skills and understanding along the way.

What are my goals?

  • My first goal is to make a positive impact on my school by putting plants into shared spaces like hallways or classrooms to make a positive effect, making the area feel more calming. 
  • My second goal is to explore why plants positively affect mental and physical health by doing research and comparing it to my own experiences. I will be able to explain how plants affect both mental and physical health clearly. 
  • My third goal is that by the end of my project, I will extend my impact beyond my school and share my research by making a positive impact on other communities. 
  •  My final goal is that by the end of my project, I will have successfully grown and maintained various plants of my own in my Les Vert Living System. 

Why did I choose this topic? 

Ever since I can remember, I have loved being in the garden and spending time with plants. I grew up in a household where my dad and grandma were always gardening and planting during the summer, and I've always wanted to help and be involved with it.

The summer before grade 10, I volunteered at Ron Paul Garden Centre for the whole summer. Although I was doing some hard work, I found that I never woke up tired, I never complained about having to work, and my overall mood improved significantly.

When the time came to choose my passion project, I reflected on that experience. I started to wonder why being surrounded by plants had such a positive effect on me. This led me to my research question: How do plants affect mental and physical health?