A locker painting project at Lake Cowichan Secondary School is helping make students proud of their school.
The program, instigated by former vice-principal Jeff Rowan, has been followed through this school year by Fine Arts teacher Mark Kloske and a team of Grade 10 to 12 students.
So far, students have painted one line of lockers, and are currently in the midst of another line.
A four week project per line of lockers, the formerly bland-looking hallways are becoming more lively and vibrant, Kloske said.
Going into the project, the lockers weren't in the best of shape, with some requiring repairs.
There were also a few different types and colours of locker, creating a miss-matched hallway.
Now, when looking at the one line of lockers that has been completed, it's difficult to tell that the lockers are miss-matched.
Vibrant colours, and outdoors scenes, designed by Kloske and painted by the students, now cover them.
Upon completion of this first line of lockers, they were promptly vandalized, with students carving things into them.
The vandalized spots were re-painted, and then vandalized a second time.
Then, the artistic students who painted the lockers, who had taken ownership of them, spoke up, asking that their peers stop vandalizing the lockers.
"When they voiced their outrage, other people listened," Kloske said.
Now, the project is continuing, one line of lockers at a time.