A total of 56 schools in the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) have earned ‘EcoSchool’ certification, for their commitment to environmental action – including five elementary schools and one high school in Innisfil, and four elementary schools in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
Certified as 2019-2020 EcoSchools are Alcona Glen Elementary School, Cookstown Central Public School., Innisfil Central P.S., Lake Simcoe P. S., Sunnybrae P.S., and Nantyr Shores Secondary in Innisfil; and Chris Hadfield P.S., Fieldcrest Elementary, Hon. Earl Rowe P.S., and W.H. Day Elementary School in BWG.
The EcoSchools Canada program provides “independent, third-party verification” of curriculum-linked environmental learning and action, in grades K through 12 – one of 67 such programs offered world-wide, by the Foundation for Environmental Education.
The programs go beyond classroom learning.
“Action – that’s a key component,” says Jessica Kukac, Environment & Sustainability Co-ordinator with the SCDSB.
The program doesn’t simply identify environmental principles, it brings those principles into the classroom and the community, generating real projects that have real outcomes – from waste diversion, to energy audits and energy conservation, to community clean-ups.
“We’ve seen a real need recently, with the pollinator gardens,” Kukac says, with more than one school establishing gardens to support beleaguered pollinators. “The only rule is that the plants must be native species.”
The schools themselves choose the projects, through EcoTeams that engage both staff and students.
“Everyone plays a role,” from the quietest student to the most outspoken leader, Kukac notes. “We really stress the ownership.”
And, notes Kukac, “Every school is different.” Environmental issues are often regional; schools determine which issues resonate most strongly, both with their students and the community.
“A school is an essential part of a community, and our students are residents,” she points out – which is why schools often work with community groups and partners.
The goal is to incorporate environmental awareness and learning into the culture of the school, “so it’s not a one-off activity – ‘oh, we’ve done it once, let’s check off the box’,” Kukac says. The emphasis is on on-going projects that have an impact.
Any school interested in EcoSchool certification generally has one or two “really keen” champions of the program - teachers, a custodian or a principal – but it is student engagement, through an inclusive, green Eco Team, that drives the activities.
The SCDSB has participated in Ontario EcoSchools programming since 2009, “but prior to that, we had our own program,” explains Kukac, modelled on the Toronto District School Board’s curriculum-linked environmental program.
Ontario EcoSchools was founded in 2002, becoming EcoSchools Canada in 2017. The program fits well with the SCDSB’s commitment to environmental initiatives, and “to helping students, staff and communities understand environmental needs and issues, and respond effectively,” as the Board notes on its website.
The environment, energy conservation and climate change are Board-wide strategic priorities, and the SCDSB has had an Environmental Policy in place since 1996, recognizing “interdependence, the right to a healthy environment, and that everything we do has an effect.”
“It’s really neat to see some of the curriculum pieces that have come out of this (the EcoSchools program),” Kukac says – from student-filmed videos on water conservation, to waste audits that have identified and targeted specific items in the waste stream, and come up with action plans to address the issues.
“A lot of times these are student initiatives,” she notes. “It’s really neat to see the student leadership in this.”
Kukac’s role as co-ordinator is to provide support for school-based initiatives, ensuring access to materials and resources; setting up networking opportunities with other schools; and connecting the school to community resources.
She will go into the schools to work with students and staff on specific ideas, ensuring that they fall “within the parameters of what we can do as a school board.”
This past school year has been a challenge, Kukac admits, with COVID-19 closures and distance learning. But, she says, “The drive is there” to continue with environmental education – especially since the environmental component can be readily worked into the curriculum, from math and statistics, to conservation and nature studies.
The EcoSchools platform is also changing this fall, to offer greater flexibility, in an altered educational environment.
The certification program includes a number of levels, from “Bronze… all the way up to Platinum,” Kukac notes, but the different levels don’t mean that one school is better than another. “It’s about embedding these activities and behaviours, day to day, into the school culture.”
From turning out the lights when a room is not in use, to walking to school at least once a week, to packing ‘trashless lunches,’ it’s all about creating new norms at a school.
“It’s really all about culture, and embracing that on a day-to-day basis,” she says, so that environmental action and awareness become “just how we do things,” and part of the curriculum.
She cites Nantyr Shores Secondary School as a prime example of how environmental awareness has become part of the fabric of school life – and in Bradford, Chris Hadfield Public School was EcoSchool Certified even before the new school building opened, as a ‘holding school.’
Students at Chris Hadfield “have really embraced waste management,” Kukac says, carrying out a waste audit that identified every single piece of garbage generated in the school, and finding ways to reduce and divert trash from the waste stream. They have also strengthened links to the community by holding outdoor classes.
“Participating in this program has really created an appreciation for their community,” Kukac notes. “We’re really proud of our staff and our students.”
For more information on the EcoSchool program, click here.
