UGDSB elementary students participate in EcoStars program with CELP student leaders

October 19, 2023

GUELPH, ON – Upper Grand District School Board elementary students are getting the unique opportunity to learn from CELP students this fall through the EcoStars Program.

Since 1995, the Community Environmental Leadership Program or CELP, is a four-credit environmental leadership program for grade 10 students. As a community, these students have field camp experience, mentor elementary students, take some core classes in the context of environmental issues and form lasting friendships.

Grade 10 CELP students who lead the EcoStars program come from four UG secondary schools: Centennial CVI, John F. Ross CVI, Guelph CVI and Centre Wellington DHS. Their studies are based out of CCVI. The EcoStars program falls under the CELP Interdisciplinary Studies and Outdoor Education Curricula.

Between October 16 and November 2, elementary students from 13 UGDSB schools will have the chance to learn from their secondary peers. During EcoStars, classes become emersed in the Victoria Woods Forest at the Guelph Arboretum while they are led by grade 10 leadership students.

As part of EcoStars, students engage in experiential learning activities about food chains, food webs, habitats, and biodiversity related to the Life Systems Strands in the grades 4-6 Science Curriculum. The interactive nature of the program not only helps elementary students immerse themselves in their science teachings, but also helps students build a love for the outdoors.

At the end of the day, elementary students are then challenged to take what they learned through the EcoStars program to help them reconsider how they have been doing things and to help them redesign their schools’ outdoor spaces to align with the Ontario EcoSchools certification.

To learn more about the CELP program, visit: https://www.ugdsb.ca/celp/

We can’t wait to hear what else the CELP program has in store this year!