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| Here is a picture of some of the Club in front of our school where
we've planted some bulbs that bloom every spring. |
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The Enviro Club, in an agreement with Parks and Recreation (Oakville),
adopted the wood lot beside the school property and transformed
it from a "hangout and dumping ground" to a wonderful
regenerated habitat! Five truckloads of junk were removed. Now in
its 12th year, the Enviro Club has over 60 members from Grades 3
through 5 who participate in yard clean-up, bulb planting, habitat
restoration, and trail maintenance.
Recent Awards and Recognition
Chisholm Enviro Club Students have been very well recognized for
their work throughout the 2000-2001 school year. The Chisholm
Enviro Club students were once again recipients of the Blue Planet
Award in April of 2001. This presentation was made at Ontario
Place in Toronto. It was given by Halton Region in cooperation
with the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District
School Board. Our club received this award for its effort
to increase environmental awareness, and for the development of
the environmental leadership in students, to benefit them and the
environment.
Again, The Canadian Wildlife Federation in Ottawa has awarded another
medallion to the students for their effort to educate themselves
and other students on the importance of water and oceans in maintaining
a healthy ecosystem for the wildlife in the oceans and along the
rivers to the oceans.
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| Our
display for the Algonquin Provincial Park. |
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The Ministry of Natural Resources has awarded the 20 Grade 4 and
5 students who participated in the reforestation in Algonquin Provincial
Park in June 2001, a certificate of appreciation for their
weekend of hard work.
Other recognition came from the Canadian Earth Day Foundation,
Pitch-In, The Canadian Forestry Association from Ottawa and the
Hamilton Bay Restoration Organization for our effort in supplying
aquatic seedlings for the reforestation of Cootes Paradise.
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Challenges in the
Class and Abroad
The students will again be participating in the Cornelle
University Bird Feeder Survey. The Back Yard Nature
Store, located on Trafalgar Road (north of Cornwall)
has been generous in supplying us with feeders, bird
houses and seeds. The students will be counting the
number of birds and the various species, which will
be visiting between now and the April migration time.
They have done this faithfully for the last five years.
Patterns have been observed in the resident birds and
also in the migratory birds which pay us a visit for
a couple of days on their flight north and south.
Again, we will be working together with the Canadian
Wildlife Federation and their satellite tracking
of the wildlife through the program called "Space
For the Species". Over the last two years
the students have become attached to the animals like
Sherman the Leatherback Turtle and his trip in the Atlantic
ocean, dodging hurricanes and the changing seasons.
Again, new challenges will face both the students and
also the animals which are helping with these real life
scientific experiments which we hope will prevent endangered
species from becoming extinct.
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Students in Action
With the arrival of the beautiful new playground equipment, the
playground has taken on a whole new look. We have been planning
and working on habitat restoration. This new equipment has
been placed in an area where it will blend in well with the trees,
bushes and the wild flower gardens of the future.
Our aim is to build the butterfly garden this Fall and plant some
of the perennials. Next Spring we will continue with the second
phase of encouraging the butterflies, song birds and hummingbirds
to visit and breed. Native grasses will also be blended in
with the changing scenery. We have had people donating many hours
of time and effort in the research of what will be suited to our
playground. We are also pleased to announce that this year
we have had a record number of students join our club. We
have over 60 students from Grades 3 to 5. They will be involved
with announcements on behalf of the Enviro Club, assemblies, encouragement
of students to conduct themselves in a positive environmental way
around the school and to educate them about small and large creatures
which may be found in and around our woodlot. Last Spring
we had the pleasure of having a Screech Owl nesting in a giant white
pine tree beside our creative playground.
Programs will continue with such organizations as Conservation
Halton, Mounstberg and the Raptor Centre, The Ministry of Natural
Resources, The Halton Parks and Recreation Department and, of course,
the community around the School.
One of the biggest chores we undertake is the clean-up and recycling
program. The students have expanded the Three R's to the Seven
R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recylce, Rethink, Replenish, Respect and Research.
They feel cleaning up is not good enough, but rather that one has
to improve the earth to overcome the damage which has already been
caused by thoughtless humans.
For me, as a teacher, it is of utter importance that the Junior
students carry the responsibility of educating the Primary children,
for without a new crop of caring students coming along this program
would surely disappear within a few years.
Mr. B. Briehl
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