UGLearnGreen: UGDSB pledges to make a difference through Eco Resolutions
February 20, 2020
GUELPH, Ontario – Staff and students across the Upper Grand District School Board have pledged to make changes in their lives to reduce their carbon footprint, live waste-free and adopt environmentally-minded habits.
At the outset of the new year, Upper Grand was issued a challenge – think about an environmental issue that concerns you and make a pledge to do something about it.
Hundreds of Eco Resolutions poured in, with many critical topics addressed.
Examples of resolutions include taking steps to reverse the loss of biodiversity, starting campaigns to divert batteries from landfills, and implementing classroom challenges to ensure proper sorting of recycling, waste and compost.
A committee of staff from across the board chose a few select winners from the anonymous list of submissions, a difficult task given the quality of the entries. The ones that really stood out were not only action oriented, but also empowered others to act as well.
2020 Eco Resolution Contest Winners
In the elementary student category, Kalyna and Maxim from Waverley Drive Public School tied for first place.
A big concern for Kalyna is the amount of waste we produce. She pledged to reduce how much waste she produces by doing things such as avoiding items that are packaged in plastic or individually wrapped, making sure gifts are wrapped with minimal or recycled packaging, and share electronic documents rather than printing. She also wants to organize a classroom challenge to see which class can throw out the least amount of waste.
Maxim is also concerned about waste. His eco resolution idea is to ask classes to contribute to the school’s food program by preparing homemade energy bars. By making the bars at home, the school would cut down on the amount of individually wrapped snack bars, which are typically wrapped in single-use plastic.
The winner of the secondary student category was Mark from College Heights Secondary School. Mark pledged to cut down on the amount of food and packaging waste that ends up in the landfill by always bringing reusable food containers to school. He also pledged to encourage his friends to do the same and to bring his own containers to restaurants. One idea Mark had to encourage others at school to cut down on their waste in the cafeteria was through offering an incentive to students who bring their own dishes or food containers. The school has jumped on board and will be launching a project to encourage this in the spring.
In the category of student collaboration, Lina and Camryn from Waverley Drive PS took first place. Their eco resolution detailed the problems with throwing out containers contaminated with food residue. Even when containers are sorted properly and put in the recycling bin, if they contain food residue, often they are not able to be recycled and end up in the landfill. What’s worse, one contaminated container could end up contaminating the entire load of recyclables. They pledged to properly rinse out their food containers and encourage others to do the same.
The winner of the multi media category was the Drayton Heights Public School Eco Action Team. The students’ resolution was to reduce plastic waste in their school and community by creating a day where students rotate from room to room, creating eco-friendly crafts from old clothes. The team made a video, detailing their plan.
The winner of the staff category was Angela Alies from the Guelph Board Office who pledged to reduce waste by only gifting items that are consumable and packaged in reusable or recyclable packaging. For the whole year, Ms. Alies will get creative by giving friends and family environmentally friendly gifts, such as a soy candle wrapped in a decorative kitchen towel, or homegrown floral arrangement arranged in a glass mason jar. To take it a step further, items will be sourced from local thrift stores and upcycled whenever possible.
All first prize school winners received funding to be used for an environmental initiative or resource in their school, and all winners received a certificate of recognition and environmental resources.
Congratulations to the winners and everyone who participated!
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