A St. Anthony student makes a compost liner out of newspapers.
Students of St. Anthony Catholic School on Booth Street are working to get their EcoSchool certification as part of an Ontario-wide program to encourage environmentally friendly activities among young people.
With the help of teachers and staff, a group of pupils have formed an extracurricular club, called the green team, aimed at conserving energy and keeping the school clean.
Teresa Rupnik, a teacher at the school who is part of the team, says members of the green team include 15 pupils, the principal, three teachers and an educational assistant.
Rupnik says the children who showed interest were recruited to be on the team.
Despite being a small group, these students “are the ones showing leadership for the entire school,” says Rupnik.
Rupnik says these pupils have promoted their green lifestyle to other students.
“I can’t go outside for three consecutive recesses without being asked to pick up garbage,” says Brian Kelly, principal at St. Anthony.
Kelly says it has been a very successful experience so far.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board decided to encourage this EcoSchool certification five years ago but it’s up to individuals school to decide whether they want to get involved in it or not, says Kelly.
Kelly says, he moved to St. Anthony school three years ago but it was not until this year that he tried to get the certification.
He says he proposed the idea to the teachers and the custodians.
“It was really the staff at my school that said we should do this,” says Kelly.
Officially the initiative started this past October, and so far it has been a success. Rupnik says. “All the children are starting to understand that what we do today will effect us tomorrow.”
The students are very engaged in the program, says Kelly. The group encourages others to shut off the lights when they are not being used.
They also plants bulbs around the school, rake leaves, encourage others to bring reusable containers in their school lunches and raise overall awareness of environmental issues among students.
Other Centretown schools have not started this initiative.