Students at J.R. Walkof School in Winkler now have the chance to get up close to creatures like cockroaches, frogs, fish, and anoles each day when they walk through the doors.

The school has installed a large ecosystem consisting of a 130" long, 24" wide x 24" high aquarium with a connected terrarium of the same volume & size.

Grade 2 teacher Jennifer Hamp says they had Ecosystems by Design in Winnipeg come out and design the ecosystem for their designated space at the school. She says right now they have a lot of fish in their tank, an anole, which is like a gecko, 3 frogs, crickets, as well as some cockroaches.

"Over time, what will happen, is it will replenish itself as they will eat through the food chain, and there will always be enough of the bottom end feeders to feed the anole and frogs. It just takes a while to establish it with food."

Hamp says there is also a composting system with wiggler worms that will break food down, which will go into the water and to the fish, and from the fish up the food chain.

J.R. Walkof is a K-3 school, and Hamp says when looking at the social studies and science curriculum, they realized the ecosystem has components from every grade.

"For the grade ones they do non-living and living things, for the grade twos we do a lot about water and the water cycle and evaporation which happens in our tank...the grade threes do plants, they do soils which includes the roots, which you can see under the water."

Hamp says the kindergarten students work with colour, observing and watching. "And all the questioning and the inquiring, and the science that comes in through it. And the sense of community within the fish tank, but also community within the school."

As the ecosystem gets more established Hamp says different animals and fish will be added.