We also held an Invention Convention, where each class was given a different recyclable object and was required to make this into a usable object. For Earth Day, we created posters and made Earth Day pledges. We also calculated our Ecological Footprints so that we could better understand our impact on the environment each day. We displayed these so that students, staff and visitors to our school could see how we impact the Earth.

We continue to recycle plastics and paper and promote our composting program. Right now, we are designing a three-stage composter for our school. Because of the refund program in our city for recyclables, we have been able to save the money that we received for handing in these recyclables to adopt an Orca whale from the WWF. We also decided to plant a vegetable and flower garden in order to attract birds and butterflies to our own schoolyard.

Our final project this year was designing a Path Walkers Program where we identify all of the different impacts that people make on forest paths. Each day or every month we record the different types of plants that can grow in a high traffic area in the forest. This activity has made us more aware of our direct impact on the environment around us and has encouraged us to continue many of our environmental initiatives, this year and in the years to come.

Shelley Leaman