EcoSchools.ca has been redesigned on the TDSB public website! Now EcoTeam members have one place to go to find Resources and Guides to support their EcoSchools programs. 

Check out the Enrich your Program pages which feature information on how you can access supports for your school -- including the AQ course, large trees, bike racks, water bottle refill stations, requesting Design Consultations and more! 

Active, Safe and Sustainable Transportation features prominently on our redesigned website. Check out our resources for suggestions on how your school can support ASST more fully.

Wednesday, April 22nd is Earth Day and your day to take action for our environment and our future. For 25 years now Earth Day has been a great motivator to go green and although TDSB tries to achieve greener measures every day, April 22nd is the day to take that extra step.

It's easy to participate in Earth Day by:

• Encouraging students and staff to choose active, safe, and sustainable transportation options
• Registering and participating in the City of Toronto community clean-up event (hold your clean-up event anytime during Earth Week April 20th - 24th)
• Encouraging students to bring a litter-less lunch
• Teaching students about environmentally friendly practices, like recycling, composting, turning off lights and electronics when not in use, etc.
• Focusing morning announcements around Earth Day messages
• Turning down classroom lights and turning off computers when not in use
• Printing any handouts for group-use and double-side them on recycled paper
• Planning classroom or lunch-time activities to get students involved, such as conducting a waste audit

Let's all work together for a greener and cleaner future!

 

Visit Earth Day Canada's website for resources to help your school plan, celebrate and act for the planet!

 

Share your Earth Day events with us, tweet us @EcoSchoolsTDSB!

 To mark 13 years of TDSB EcoSchools, and help Ontario EcoSchools mark their 10 year anniversary, we are inviting all registered TDSB EcoSchools to participate in the EcoAction Challenge. Join schools from across the province to take an EcoAction and share it for collective impact as well as a chance to win prizes!

 

The EcoAction Challenge is an opportunity for our schools to:

• Celebrate 13 years of environmental learning and action
• Promote student leadership
• Build momentum province-wide

What is an EcoAction?

An EcoAction is a student-led initiative that connects environmental learning with tangible actions. Some examples include:

• A school EcoTeam makes class presentations, holds an assembly, or delivers workshops to raise awareness about key environmental issues.
• A student plans and leads their class on a nature hike.
• The school launches a walk-to-school campaign.

For more details and to register: Contact [email protected]. The first 20 TDSB EcoSchools to register will receive a print copy of our Best Practices Guide.
 

Before schools, school councils or departments can apply for grants, you must first contact the TDSB's Business Development Office. Please email any grant applications and questions to [email protected]. TDSB staff can now access a new website that provides information about approved grants.

 

Review the Grant Application one pager for more details.

 

EcoSchools Section 4: Questions 4.3, 4.4; Section 5: Question 5.??

  Congratulations to all of our schools that are participating in Clean Toronto events this month! Orca Footprint Book Series has just released Trash Talk, Moving Toward a Zero Waste World . As with the other books in the series, Trash Talk takes both a Canadian and Global perspective on trash issues ranging from upcycling, landfills, dumpster diving, and zero waste. This book is filled with plenty of compelling images and trash facts, as well as stories of people reducing waste all around the world. One would think that with all of our trash problems this book could paint a bleak picture. Yet, Michelle Mulder focuses on trash solutions and states that " people are natural problem solvers, with all the resources and skills we need to keep our planet healthy and trash free, just like nature intended ." As you work with your students to find innovative solutions to everyday trash problems, use this book as an inspiring starting point. 

 

Here's a special chance to combine a visit to Tommy Thompson Park on the Leslie Street spit with focused learning about, in, and from nature! Students will ponder the wonder of migration and engage in activities to hone their observation and data collection skills. If weather permits, students will get to examine migratory species at the park's Bird Research Station and observe staff and volunteers doing daily monitoring and bird banding. A short half-day immersion in one of Toronto's richest patches of urban wilderness right on our waterfront can offer a unique learning experience to city dwellers of all ages.

 

Focus has been placed on meeting the curriculum expectations outlined in: 

Grade 4: Science - Habitats and Communities
Grade 6: Science - Biodiversity   

Grade 7: Science - Interactions in the Environment
Grade 10: Biology - Applied and Academic     

 

Apply now! Spots are limited.

 

Time: Weekday mornings

Available dates: April 13th - June 5th

Program fee: $200 (no HST) for 30 students and 3 adults plus bussing costs 

For more information or to reserve your spot, contact: [email protected]

 

EcoSchools Section 4: Questions 4.3, 4.5

 

The Greenbelt is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan that provides direction about where and how future growth should be accommodated, and what must be protected. The plan will be reviewed this year in 2015. Many of the green space within the Greenbelt supports agricultural production that contains both natural heritage and hydrologic features. By protecting the Greenbelt's fields, forests, streams and wetlands it helps us naturally filter pollution from our drinking water as explained by Dr. David Suzuki's Foundation.

 

An activity you may undertake with your class is to understand the issues and take action on environmental issues they care deeply about or even a visit to part of the Greenbelt area to uncover our dependence on the environment. 

EcoSchools Section 5: Questions 5.2, 5.5, 5.6

 

May 4th to 10th, 2015 has been declared by the United Nations as Global Road Safety Week and the theme this year is children. Parachute Canada's Safe Kids Week takes place the same week and this year their theme is promotion and awareness of cycling and road safety in communities across Canada.

Wednesday, May 6th has been chosen as Spring Walk and Roll to School Day, when families are encouraged to leave the car at home to promote an active, healthy, environmentally-friendly, and safe trip to school. Schools are encouraged to celebrate the day with stickers, raffle prizes (e.g., bike lights, umbrellas, pedometers), a fun lap around the school (especially if there are many bus students), wearing the colour green, and potentially hosting a special assembly. 

 

Walking and rolling to school is about creating a greater sense of community, enhancing the safety of school neighbourhoods, being kind to the environment and our bodies, and simply having fun. 

 

In the weeks leading up to the event, schools are encouraged to make announcements, posters, and put messages in their newsletter. 

 

Families travelling long distances are encouraged to park several blocks away this day and walk the last leg of the trip, or take the TTC! (free for children under 12). 

 

For sample messages, materials, or assembly ideas, schools can contact Katie Wittmann at [email protected].

EcoSchools Section 5: Questions 5.2, 5.5, 5.6

 

 Bike to School Week is a celebration of cycling and active transportation. This year students and teachers across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) will join together to participate in the first-ever Bike to School Week.   

 

Visit www.biketoschoolweek.ca and register your school's event. You will also find downloadable posters to help promote your event and a resource list.

 

Note: Bike to School Week colour posters can be requested by emailing [email protected]. In your email, please include the quantity you wish to receive (max of 10 posters/school).

 

Win bike racks for your school!

TDSB schools that complete a short survey following the completion of their event will receive a certificate of participation, and be entered to win bike racks for their school. Selection will be based on need, and the percentage of school population that participated in the event.

 

*Although Bike to School Week will officially run from May 25th to 29th, schools that register events that take place between Monday May 11th and Saturday June 13th can still receive a certificate.

 

Show us how you're celebrating!

Throughout the week, tweet us @EcoSchoolsTDSB, use the hashtag #biketoschool

 

Stay tuned for our Bike to School Week news bulletin in late April that will include ideas and resources to support Bike to School Week at your school!

Questions? Contact Kristen Evers at [email protected]

 

Is yours the greenest school in Canada? The Canadian Coalition for Green Schools and the Canadian Green Building Council are inviting applications to their annual competition to find "the school that truly exemplifies how sustainability can be integrally woven into the infrastructure, culture, and curriculum of a school."  Last year, Dunbarton High School in Pickering, earned the honour by demonstrating these ideas through a variety of sustainable initiatives, both within the school and in their surrounding community. Read a full case study about Dunbarton High School.

 

Eligibility: Schools that offer any grade from K-12 in Canada  

 

Judging criteria:

1. Efficient use of resources and reduced environmental impact
2. Enhanced health and learning among students, teachers and staff
3. Emphasis on sustainability and resource-conservation education

The winning school will receive $2,000 in prize money and the title of Greenest School in Canada and will be submitted as the official Canadian entry into the Greenest School on Earth competition.

How to apply: Complete the submission form now, email by June 1st to be considered for the Greenest School in Canada 2015.

 

Questions? Contact Erin Wood or Jenn Vetter for assistance.