News from the Field: Certification Season Update May and June are exciting months for celebration and site visits in EcoSchools across Ontario! It is an inspirational and rewarding time as we assess applications and meet with EcoTeams to learn about all of the amazing environmental initiatives underway.
Congratulations to all the hard-working EcoTeams making a difference in your schools and communities! We look forward to highlighting and sharing your achievements in upcoming newsletters and within the online community.
We encourage all schools that applied for certification to sign into your application at certapp.ontarioecoschools.org and click on “Application Summary” to read your feedback.
New Resources: Biodiversity Education Factsheet & Certificates of Appreciation Our new Biodiversity Education Factsheet was created in partnership with BEAN (Biodiversity and Education Awareness Network) to support schools in teaching and learning about biodiversity.
The factsheet includes five ways that your school can support biodiversity and highlights six great biodiversity learning activities. It also features a brief overview of the importance of teaching about biodiversity and links to the EcoSchools program.
Check it out today, available in English and French.
Consider honouring EcoSchools supporters with our new Certificates of Appreciation. Available in two styles, these fillable-PDF certificates can be used to celebrate the amazing eco-achievements of staff, volunteers, custodians, administrators, community groups, parents or students. Customize and print them (on G.O.O.S. paper!) to recognize eco-champions within your school community.
Early Bird Draw Winner - St. Padre Pio St. Padre Pio of York Catholic District School Board was selected as the 2013 Early Bird Draw winner! All schools that submitted their application for certification by the Early Bird Deadline were automatically eligible for the draw.
St. Padre Pio has decided to use their grant towards an outdoor education field trip to the Kortright Centre for Conservation. Congratulations St. Padre Pio!
Maritimes Marine Ecosystems Study Trip for Grade 12 Students Grade 12 science students at St Joseph HS in Ottawa Catholic School Board spent five days in St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick to study its unique marine ecosystem. The trip was designed to give students hands-on experience working in a marine biology setting.
Students visited a recognized education and research facility and participated in specimen collection and analysis. The data was used for a formal lab report that was submitted at the end of the trip.
The students learned how sensitive, yet resilient, ocean ecosystems can be and developed a new appreciation for sea life and human impacts on ocean ecosystems.
The effect of this unique study trip on students is clearly long-lived, as some past participants have pursued careers in the marine biology field.
Outfitting Blanding turtles adopted by Turtle Club with radio transmitters
Ready to be released, wearing radio transmitters
Close-up of Blanding Turtle youngster
Transporting to new remote habitat for release
Freedom!
New home
Tracking the turtles
Turtle Club in KPRDSB helps with conservation of Ontario Turtles Students at Dr. GJ MacGillivray PS, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, formed a Turtle Club to raise awareness about disappearing turtle populations in Ontario and to promote steps to help protect them.
The club is made up of 35 students ranging from grade 5-7 and a few grade 1’s. Student members wrote public announcements and articles for school newsletters, created posters, built a float for the school Carnivale parade, and designed informative slideshows to be shown on the flat screen TV in the school foyer. The club even finished the school year with a turtle-themed fun fair that raised money to support turtle conservation efforts. The fun fair included educational games designed and run by students.
The club adopted a group of baby Blanding’s turtles at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre (KTTC), a hospital for injured wild turtles that releases turtles back into the wild when healed. Since less than 1% of turtle eggs and hatchlings will survive to adulthood and turtles reproduce later in life (between 8 and 25 years), habitat destruction and injuries take a large toll on the turtle population. Each turtle saved makes a big difference.
The KTTC has also developed a ‘headstarting’ program to incubate and hatch turtle eggs and raise them until they are large enough to be released into the wild. This greatly improves the chances for the survival of the species in Ontario.
The 10 Blanding’s babies that the Dr. GJ MacGillivray Turtle Club adopted were hatched and raised in the headstarting program at the KTTC and then released wearing radio transmitters so they could be tracked. They are part of a study to determine if the headstarting project is a viable conservation strategy.
Because of the Turtle Club’s fantastic work this year, the KTTC will be releasing a Turtle Club kit for schools across the province who are interested in starting their own club. They hope to make the kits available in time for the 2013-14 school year.
Read more about the Blandings turtles that were released here.
Has your school been involved in any animal conservation initiatives? Discuss with other EcoSchools in the online community at community.ontarioecoschools.org
À Sainte-Bernadette (CECCE), les élèves de toute l’école visent à gagner la lampe ou la poubelle d’or!
À L’Odyssée (CEPEO), même les murs de l’école font la surveillance des poubelles pour assurer que les déchets sont réduits.
L’affiche installée devant l’école Félix-Leclerc (Conseil scolaire Viamonde), à Toronto, encourage toute la collectivité à poser des gestes écologiques.
Les idées écologiques débordent dans les écoles francophones ! Tout au long du mois de mai, j’ai eu le privilège de parcourir la province pour visiter les écoles francophones qui visaient la certification ÉcoÉcoles.
Mes voyages m’ont amené de London jusqu’à Ottawa, de North Bay jusqu’à Thunder Bay (par vidéoconférence). Deux mille cinq cents kilomètres plus tard, je peux dire avec confiance que la conscientisation environnementale se taille une belle place dans les écoles francophones en Ontario.
Un thème commun est ressorti de mes visites : nos écoles ne manquent pas d’enseignants passionnés et d’élèves motivés. C’était remarquable de voir comment les membres de nos communautés scolaires sont prêts à prendre la responsabilité d’améliorer nos pratiques environnementales à l’école et dans la collectivité élargie.
C’était formidable de voir la fierté des élèves lorsqu’ils me montraient leurs bacs de recyclage bien triés et propres, leur laboratoire d’informatique où tous les écrans étaient éteints ou la feuille d’inscription pour leur salle de classe extérieure.
Nous allons faire le recueil des pratiques réussies pour les publier dans nos éditions futures et pour en parler au cours des ateliers de l’an prochain. Pour le moment, j’aimerais surtout mentionner quelques initiatives qui témoignent de la puissance de l’éducation dans l’environnement.
À la Toronto French School, la classe de biologie de 11e année a évalué la pratique japonaise du Shinrin-yoku (« bain de forêt ») en comparant différentes mesures de la santé mentale et physiologique après un séjour en forêt et en milieu urbain. L’école a noté que ce n’était pas juste une leçon de biologie, mais une leçon qui a renforcé les bienfaits de la nature chez les élèves.
À l’école élémentaire Des Sentiers (CEPEO), la classe de 6e année a adopté un petit boisé voisin de l’école. Pour célébrer l’évènement, l’école a embauché un artiste de la région pour aider la classe à composer et enregistrer une chanson à propos du boisé.
À l’école élémentaire Franco-Supérieur (CSDCAB), les élèves du jardin d’enfants ont fait connaissance avec les arbres de leur cour d’école. Les yeux bandés, les élèves ont été guidés jusqu’à un arbre pour le toucher. Après avoir été ramenés au point de départ, ils devaient retrouver leur arbre selon leur souvenir de la texture de l’écorce.
Je pourrais continuer longtemps sur cette lancée, mais je vous invite plutôt à communiquer vous aussi vos idées et réussites dans la cybercommunauté ÉcoÉcoles, maintenant disponible avec une interface en français !
click for larger image
Outdoor Eco-Art Stencilling Addresses Water Pollution In May 2012, grade 2-8 students from Kettle Lake, York Region District School Board, worked with guest artist Linda Naccarato to create an
eco-art project bringing awareness to the issue of
water pollution.
Students created a non-toxic outdoor art piece on the playground pavement with terracotta clay and water that would slowly wash away with rainwater into nearby storm drains.
This visible art piece was
designed to draw attention to the many harmful substances
(pesticides, car oils, etc.) that end up mixing with rainwater.
Students used stencils and their own freehand designs incorporating various species including fish, plants and insects that depend upon clean water.
This experience gave students an opportunity to share
their knowledge of the water cycle and discuss the effects of water pollution
on nearby natural habitats such as streams, rivers and lakes, and the many
species that live there.
Students used the same stencilling and freehand technique to create a
complimentary art piece on the walls of the school’s Eco-hallway to extend the water ecosystem awareness inside the school.
Province-wide Events (For local resources, visit our community site)
Get Outside Ontario, a new Wildlands League Youth Leadership program for 14-18 year olds who are passionate about the outdoors and leadership and want to make a difference in their community. Applications are due June 18 at 12pm. All expenses paid.
Jellyfish Project - A free high-energy rock show and presentation for high schools and middle schools across Ontario about ocean health and climate change.
Green Teacher Webinars - Free webinars on environmental eduation. Line-up for September beginning to fill in.
Eco Calendar (year-round calendar can be found here)
