by Steve Taylor and Jelena Perkic
WillowWood School has registered in the Ontario Eco Schools Program!
EcoSchools Canada offers a certification program for elementary through secondary schools that nurture environmental learning and climate action. Their award-winning, curriculum-linked framework supports school communities as they assess, track, benchmark, and celebrate environmental excellence. Eco Schools is a registered charity and the largest environmental certification program for K-12 schools in Canada, reaching over 19 million students in 70 countries.
Each year, schools apply for certification by undertaking environmental actions, campaigns, and projects, and then recording them in the online EcoSchools Certification Application (ECA) to earn points. At the end of the year, school applications are assessed based on a standard established over 10 years of benchmarking and are awarded a final certification level.
Throughout the school year, WillowWood will complete actions in the online application and earn points toward our certification. The depth and extent of these completed environmental actions will determine our final certification level.
Our participation will provide WillowWood School with a framework to plan, set, and meet sustainability targets. It will also help us build student leadership by providing opportunities to create environmental action plans, run meetings, and initiate and complete projects.
We have selected 11 “climate actions” that must be completed by May 14th. Points are awarded for each action and along with submitted documentation, will determine what level of certification WillowWood will receive (participant, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.
Climate Actions:
Environmental Literacy - Deepen environmental literacy by providing opportunities for all students at your school to learn IN, ABOUT, FOR, and FROM the environment.
Outdoor Learning – spend more time in nature by bringing classes outside.
Pollinator Garden - plant a pollinator garden at your school and create a space that is not only beneficial to pollinators like bees and butterflies but is also fertile grounds for learning.
Sort Your Waste - Discover how much waste your school is producing so you can start reducing it!
The Great Gulp - raise awareness with your school community about drinking water, access to safe and healthy tap water in Canada, and the importance of reducing single-use plastic waste.
Reduce-Single Use Plastics - Raise awareness and take a pledge to reduce harmful single-use plastic waste at your school.
Idle-Free Zones - Breathe clean air and reduce air pollution by tackling vehicle idling at your school and in your community!
Community Clean-Up - Remove litter from the environment, learn about proper waste sorting, and demonstrate the power of working together!
Switch Off Lights and Devices – conserve energy by turning off lights, monitors, and other electronics when they are not needed.
Earth Day – celebrated annually on April 22nd. Engage in collective action to support climate change resilience biodiversity, and ecosystems.
Sit Spot – cultivate awareness and well-being by regularly visiting one specific spot where you can sit, slow down, awaken your senses, and learn about yourself and the local environment.
Wish us luck and stay up to date through our social media channels!