An exciting new initiative is underway to help schools of the St. Clair Catholic and Lambton Kent district school boards educate, inspire and empower school communities to become more environmentally friendly. The Green Team initiative is being organized and led by Taylor Maris, Energy & Environmental Coordinator for the boards’ shared school services consortium, CLASS.
“Green Team members live their school experiences every day,” says Ms. Maris. “Members of our team will use their collective expertise to help identify opportunities to improve environmental performance, then work towards implementing initiatives to make our schools greener.”
The team includes students, principals, teachers, Facility Services staff and representatives from the senior administration of both boards. Sub-committees will also be developed to draw in expertise from the larger community, including Indigenous representatives, parents/guardians and community representatives, curriculum leaders, childcare partners, instructional leaders and pastoral representatives.
“This is an exciting new initiative, which puts student voice at the forefront as we work collaboratively to reduce our carbon footprint and make our schools more eco-friendly,” says Scott Johnson, Director of Education for the St. Clair Catholic District School Board. “Through this important work, the Green Team will also be helping to raise awareness about the steps we can all take to reduce harm to the environment, not just in our schools, but in our communities and our homes, too.”
“We are looking forward to the planning and action steps developed by the Green Team to promote sustainability and increase awareness throughout our school communities about the importance of sustainable stewardship of our resources and environment,” says John Howitt, Director of Education for the Lambton Kent District School Board. “As one of our Strategic Priorities, we are committed to reducing LKDSB’s environmental impact and we are pleased to engage students, staff, Indigenous representatives and community partners as we work together to support a greener future for education.”
The Green Team’s first meeting was held virtually yesterday.
