March 24, 2009
DSBN Students Cast Vote for the Planet
According to the Earth Hour website, there’s a global election happening on Saturday, March 28. It offers the choice between a healthy, sustainable planet and global warming. DSBN staff and students plan to cast their votes for the planet at the advance polls by observing Earth Hour a day early on Friday, March 27.
This year, the DSBN is extending a special Earth Hour Challenge to each of its 98 elementary and 22 secondary schools. The contest challenges all schools to plan an event to conserve energy and help save the planet. A cash prize will be awarded to the school that holds the most innovative and inspiring event. While offering prizes as an incentive to vote is generally frowned upon in traditional elections, DSBN Director of Education Warren Hoshizaki says this is an important exception. “The Board is pleased to encourage and support the creativity and ingenuity of our students who care so much for the environment.”
“Being environmentally responsible has never been more important. As a Board, we are examining our policies and procedures to ensure we are operating in a sustainable fashion. Students at each of our schools also spend time learning about the environment, our impact on it and how we can all take concrete action to protect our planet. In fact, our students are often the ones leading the way in the movement towards sustainability as they understand it is their future,” said Hoshizaki.
Many schools are planning on rising to this challenge by powering down at various points throughout the day and holding other environmental themed activities. For example, students at Connaught Public School in St. Catharines will bring litterless lunches to school, clean the school yard, make crafts from recyclables and spend the last period of the day with the lights off.
Energy conservation has been an important priority for DSBN students and schools for some time now. For nearly a decade, students and schools have been participating in an aggressive power saving initiative that has paid major dividends. This past school year alone, 75 schools were able to reduce their electricity consumption by a combined total of more than 1.6 million kilowatt hours.
Furthering the Board's committment to sustainable practices, in the 2007/2008 school year, three schools became Eco-Certified. During the 2008/2009 school year, 24 more schools are seeking Eco-Certification. Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education program that addresses both how the schools are run and what students learn. It has been designed to support schools as they incorporate environmental education and environmentally responsible action into the school setting.
To view the full list of school events taking place on Friday, March 27, log on to www.dsbn.org/earthhour.
