ISSUE: Spring Has Sprung! - May 2011

Spring is in the Air… Let the Outdoor Learning Begin!

As the long awaited sunrays emerge, students are especially keen to get outside. Let the games of tag and handball begin! Take advantage of this outdoor zest and make a patch of grass your classroom for an afternoon. Whether to explore and appreciate the blooms, host a reading circle, compose a creative writing piece, perform your 20 minutes of DPA, or to simply draw by a tree. The outdoors can be an inspiring and invigorating location for any learning to happen.

For more outdoor education ideas, browse Evergreen’s extensive environmental lessons here.

EcoSource Green Schools Program

Take a leap towards school sustainability with the EcoSource Green Schools Program 2011-2012!

The Green Schools program is an empowering partnership between EcoSource and selected elementary schools. This one year program takes a whole school approach to environmental education by engaging teachers, administrators, custodians and students in greening school culture, practices, and curriculum. The Green Schools program facilitates activities that focus on waste reduction, and in developing practices that better value our resources.

The Green School Program offers:
• A dedicated EcoSource coordinator to facilitate the program from September to June
• Several fun school-wide initiatives focused on different aspects of waste reduction
• Curriculum-connected workshops
• The opportunity to significantly enhance your Peel EcoSchools certification experience
• And much more!

To learn more about the Green Schools Program, or to apply to become a Green School, click here.

Environmental Education – Classroom Ready Activities

Join OSEE & EcoSource for 3 days at OTF Summer Camp Program - August 23-25, in Sudbury

This hands-on workshop will assist teachers from all subject areas in integrating more environmental education activities into their curriculum. Participants will enjoy numerous activities including:

• Discovering aquatic organisms in a pond or stream and testing water quality
• Leading a successful nature walk even if you can’t name many plants and animals
• Climate change games to play indoors or out
• Integrating whole school approaches to sustainability education into your curriculum
• Food and Environmental Issues as a curriculum focus
• Building a working solar oven as a math and literacy activity
• And much more!

For more information click here
 

Greening Your Spring Cleaning

With spring comes the urge to tidy and organize, but be sure to make your cleaning ‘green’ by practicing the 3 R’s!

Some Spring Cleaning Ideas for your classroom and office:
• Organize a ‘stuff swap’ where participants can bring in unwanted belongings including games, books, or clothes to exchange with one another.
• Discard unwanted goods to outlets such as Freecycle, SwapCity and Craigslist.
• Remember that you can bring hazardous waste, recyclable materials, and reusable goods to the Region of Peel’s Community Recycling Centres.
• It is important to know the proper methods of disposal of our garbage and recycling. For more information please visit wheredoesitgo.ca 
 

DIY Cleaners: Turning Spring Cleaning Blues GREEN!

Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Alternatives from The Region of Peel

There are many ways to bring conservation into your classroom, school, or home. This year, many of us will take on our annual de-clutter challenge with a good ol’fashioned spring cleaning. As we strive to live a balanced, natural lifestyle, it is important to remember that some of our favourite cleaning products will leave behind harsh chemical fumes and residues that are harmful to you and the environment. Store bought “green” cleaners can be expensive and most of us already have their active ingredients in our kitchen cupboards; so why not make your own cleaning products? Homemade cleaning alternatives use natural ingredients that cause less damage to the environment. By replacing household cleaners, which contain harsh chemicals, you can reduce the amount of contaminants you put into water systems, dispose of in a landfill, or release into the air. For more information and recipes click here.

Composting in The Classroom

EcoSource is initiating a new vermicomposting program that will begin in the 2011-2012 school year. The program will include Professional Development for teachers, a Vermicomposting kit, an easy to follow manual, and a specialized classroom workshop. If you are interested in participating in this program or learning more, please contact jkukac@ecosource.ca.

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