Once again this year North Okanagan students are joining kids in other parts of the country in honouring veterans by decorating gravestones with poppies ahead of Remembrance Day.
Called No Stone Left Alone, the program is in its seventh year in Vernon, B.C., and has grown exponentially.
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No Stone Left Alone began in the region in 2016 with one class.
This year more than 400 students are expected to participate in four different area communities.
Organizer Lawrna Myers said it is “wonderful” to see more and more classes taking part each year.
“I think it is important to do it so students never forget and they understand what these veterans have done for us,” Myers said.
When possible, group leaders helping the students find the graves in local cemeteries try to give students information on the individual military members whose graves they are recognizing with a poppy.
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Myers hopes the students leave with more of a personal connection to the service people.
“I hope they realize that these area real people,” said Myers. “(No Stone Left Alone) brings that person to life. That person actually existed and lived just as they live right now.”
In the North Okanagan alone, students and volunteers participating in No Stone Left Alone events are expected to honour hundreds of service personnel by placing more than 1,500 poppies at their gravesites.
The program is also carried out in communities across Canada, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and the Maritimes.
According to the website, in 2021, 7,702 students from 88 communities placed 67,171 poppies in 131 ceremonies.