First GREENFest! Celebrates Students’ Hard Work (UTRCA weekly, July 8, 2022)
GREEN Leaders classes from across the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) came to Fanshawe Conservation Area on May 24-27, to participate in GREENFest!, a weeklong event hosted by Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Community Education and Partnerships staff. Start.ca sponsored the event and provided volunteers each day.
Karlee Flear, Community Education Supervisor, explained the GREEN program:
Over the course of the school year, UTRCA staff have been working with 18 Grade 7 and 8 GREEN classes to identify local environmental issues and implement sustainable solutions. Their projects have included school and community fundraisers, education campaigns and programs, bulletin boards, contests, posters and school announcements, garden design and signage creation, litter clean ups, and awareness building.
For example:
- A class from Cedar Hollow Public School organized a community event at their school to showcase the impacts of single use plastics and the eco-friendly alternatives that are available. They invited more than 200 community members to trade in disposable bags for a reusable bag that students filled with information about reducing waste at home.
- A class from White Oaks Public School organized an Earth Week in June with daily announcements sharing information about recycling, and encouraging participation in the school recycling program. Students also led presentations to younger classes of students and offered a contest for the correct diversion of waste.
- A class from Winchester Street Public School is working towards creating a designated natural space in their schoolyard where students and teachers can relax and de-stress. Students decided to focus on a “wellness garden” that would include native plants and trees and an outdoor rock seating area. Students are continuing to research the local indigenous communities’ connections to plants.
One student shared what their GREEN project showed them about making environmental improvements in their community, stating, “I feel like with this project it was really challenging at the beginning, reaching all these stakeholders, and some of the time people didn’t answer. When they did answer, it was encouraging and felt like it was a leap in the project. It felt good that there were still people out there that were able to answer our e-mails and questions even though we are still kids, so it was really nice seeing that people still care and that people were still able to answer our questions.”
GREENFest! is a new event offered to GREEN classes this year to celebrate their learning and the hard work they have put into the program. During the week, each class came out for a full day of programming which included screen printing bags and t-shirts, button making, a map and compass course, live animal shows from Sciensational Snakes, and interactive demos (e.g., augmented reality sand table, floodplain model, rainfall simulator, LID House, stream table).
“GREENFest! was a big hit with students and teachers alike and we look forward to running the event again in years to come,” said Karlee.