February 2022 Newsletter

Winter Walk Day February 2nd!

We acknowledge that we are hosted on the lands of the Mississaugas of the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Wendat. We also recognize the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis & Inuit peoples.

Welcome to the February 2022 issue of the TDSB EcoSchools newsletter!

Inside you will find valuable information on...

Youth Climate Summit- Grades 6-12

Winter Walk Day/Month

African Heritage Month & Environmental Racism

Upcoming Webinars

The League for Green Leaders

Environmental Education AQ Spring Session

Stay connected with us via Twitter (@EcoSchoolsTDSB) and Instagram (@TDSBEcoSchools) to keep up to date with our upcoming webinars!

Youth Climate Summit - Register Today

**Calling All TDSB Youth EcoTeams and Staff**

Join us for the TDSB EcoSchools Virtual Youth Climate Action Summit for Grades 6-12.

Wednesday, February 16th, 9-11:45 am

The Summit will help you become actively involved in taking equitable climate action that will help slow down climate change and contribute towards achieving the TransformTO targets.

During this summit, you will be inspired by Areej Riaz, a climate change consultant, who is currently working as the Director of Climate Programs with EnviroMuslims, Head of Research and Education with the Community Climate Council and as a sustainability advisor to the National Zakat Foundation and Oxfam.

You will learn how to get started by exploring five interconnected climate action strategies outlined in the TDSB’s new Youth Climate Action Guide.

You will also learn how your team can apply to the Youth Climate Action Grants from the City of Toronto to launch and support your actions.

Registration is required.

TDSB EcoSchools will provide supply release for one staff person at each school to attend the half-day with their students. Use Code 114.

Register your team using the link provided. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting that you can share with your principal, students, parents and guardians.

Winter Walk Day

Celebrate, don't hibernate!

Walk to school this winter

Winter Walk Day (WWD) is an annual celebration of winter walking that takes place on the first Wednesday of February or throughout the month. Register your participation with Ontario Active School Travel for a chance to win a $200 Scholar’s Choice gift card!

Download materials and resources including Activity Ideas, Trip Tracker Poster, Dressing for Cold Weather Poster and more at Winter Walk Day

Download pledge cards from EcoSchools Canada to connect your Winter Walking Actions with the EcoSchools Active and Sustainable School Travel Action Card and gain valuable points toward certification.

African Heritage Month &

Environmental Racism

Racial Justice is Climate Justice

For teachers, African Heritage Month is a great opportunity to teach with intention, reflecting on the important role Black Canadians have played in shaping Canada’s history, all while facing much discrimination and racism. It is also important time to engage students in activities that get them to think broadly and critically about current issues and the Black experience in all of its complexity.

“A way to make people feel more inclined to get involved in environmental justice work is to change the face of it — the face of it needs to reflect the communities that are being lived in,”

Sarah Jama of the Hamilton Transit Riders’ Union (HTRU)

The climate crisis is fueling inequity around the world and in particular racial injustice. In June 2020, 25 Black environmental leaders published an open letter calling for an end to the ‘systemic and pervasive racism within the environmental field’. Ending and repairing the damage of racism within the environmental field will require actions that include ending the negative narratives around Black people and their relationship with nature and preventing further environmental injustices.

Below are some resources that explore environmental racism in Canada and stories of Black Environmentalists, provided to centre the voices of Black Canadians in environmental and social justice lessons and inspire actions towards a just and sustainable future.

EcoRise : These foundational lessons for elementary, middle, and high school students’ explore environmental justice (EJ) history and concepts and discover how they can help dismantle and counteract damage caused by systemic racism.

Facing History: Reflecting on Climate Change and Ecological Grief resources prepare students for discussions on issues related to the impact of climate change on individuals or societies

The Enrich Project: Resources include podcasts, films and articles addressing effects of environmental racism in Indigenous. Black and other marginalized Canadian communities. Also find the stories behind the National Strategy to Redress Environmental Racism (Bill C-230) championed by Ingrid Waldron

Niche Canada: Whose Nature? Race and Canadian Environmental History features articles and podcasts exploring ways in which ideas of race have influenced the interactions between people and the rest of nature in Canada's past.

Teaching Beyond The Surface: Women leading the Environmental Justice movement- Use this prepared slide presentation to highlight diverse environmental justice activists from Canada and around the world

Learning For Justice: Analyze how pollution, tree coverage, access to green spaces, etc. disproportionately affects people who are poor and members of racial and ethnic minorities. Augment this lesson by using the Toronto's environmental racism story map.

Upcoming Webinars

Engaging Approaches to Climate Justice Through Critical Inquiry

Thursday February 24, 2022 4-5pm

Teaching for climate justice asks us to deeply consider intersectional, intergenerational and interspecies equity and care. How might we engage K-12 learners in meaningful and rich critical inquiries that center our relationships and responsibilities to each other and to our planet? Join educator and researcher Maria Vamvalis to explore ways of framing K -12 inquiries that nurture critical, creative and collaborative thinking while expanding possibilities for regeneration in our communities.

Environmental Racism

Part 1: Tuesday March 1, 2022 4-5pm

Part 2: Monday April 4, 2022 4-5pm

What is environmental racism? Who does it affect? Why is it important to our teaching in the TDSB? Join Outdoor Learning Coordinator Sylvia Denton Carryl, TDSB teacher Aleeya Ali and Outdoor Educator Stefanie Hall in conversation to learn about and discover how to engage students in advocating for environmental equity. Teachers will have the opportunity to use ArcGIS to explore the impact of environmental racism on their local community. This webinar has two parts which build on the learning from one to another; it is recommended that participants register for both if possible.

The League for Green Leaders - Part 2

The League for Green Leaders program is the world's first fun elementary student online competition on climate action.

202 children saved 15 tonnes of CO2 in the pilot of League for Green Leaders, which is equivalent to CO2 removed by a 18 acres of forest in a year.

Registration for teachers and their students is free. The second League competition will begin on February 3rd, 2022, and registration is now open. TDSB has assessed the cyber security risk of this learning resource as low.

Those participating in the EcoSchools Canada program can submit your group's participation and actions using the Create Your Own Action Card.

Eight TDSB classes participated in the last round, and here is what students said:

What have you learned from this League competition?

I have learned many things but some were to recycle more and plant some trees from time to time and eat better too!
I learned that we need to use fewer things and and to take care of the plants and animals.
I have learned that there are many ways to save CO₂ and we can make A BIG DIFFERENCE.

The teachers also had overwhelming positive comments:

What is the value of the League program for you?

I am happy to see programs like these that tie all of the curriculum areas together to engage our students while helping to take climate action.
It builds team spirit amongst groups and the class.
I liked the fact that it talked about climate change, ecosystems and relevant topics like CO2 trapping, and had some hands on activities too.

Environmental Education AQ's

Want to take climate action with your students? Looking to connect with other educators dedicated to environmental learning?

Join our Additional Qualification course in Environmental Education at OISE!

Part 1 provides an engaging introduction to teaching and ‘learning in, about, and for the environment’ for elementary and secondary teachers through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, workshops, guest speakers, and nature-based learning.

Part 2 takes your learning of environmental education to the next level. You will be collaborating with other elementary and secondary teachers to explore the connections between systems-thinking, eco-justice, and eco-identity in relation to environmental education, sustainability and ecoliteracy.

Each course features 12 modules of collaborative and independent professional learning, access to a rich set of resources, and many opportunities for collaborative learning and networking.