Environmental Schools Grant

Many of our local schools are dedicated to reducing their ecological footprint on the earth. Students and teachers have been working together on a number of sustainability initiatives including:

• apply for sustainable projects and initiatives through the Pickering Environmental Schools Grant
• participating in Boomerang lunches, where students and staff bring their lunches in reusable containers and take non-compostable garbage home with them for disposal or recycling
• participating in the Park Stewardship program and litter cleanup initiatives
• planting hardy native trees to shade buildings and pathways and provide habitat and food for birds and butterflies
• participating in environmental monitoring programs for water, groundwater, invasive species
• monitoring electricity consumption and waste generation; analyzing the results and then implementing programs to reduce
• encouraging walking to school
• collecting milk bags, which are crocheted into sleeping mats for people in impoverished nations
• devoting classroom time to the discussion of environmental issues
• creating outdoor classrooms

Your school can apply to become certified as an Ontario EcoSchool. The EcoSchool program promotes ecological literacy and environmental practices. It encourages school children to become environmentally responsible citizens and helps reduce the ecological footprint of our schools. A point system establishes Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze levels of performance.

For more information on the program see the Ontario EcoSchool Certification Guide.

Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER)
ACER is a non-for-profit organization that supports communities with grass-roots initiatives to plant trees and educate participants in measuring, monitoring and reporting on tree health and growth. They provide programs such as citizen science, community mapping, planting for change, riparian ranger and go global to support these initiatives. Educational resources are available online for schools and teachers here.

Bring Monarch Nation to Your Students
Monarch Nation has created a program to engage 6-12 year-olds in learning about species at risk. They have many links and resources available including scavenger hunt games, guided debrief activities and suggestions for follow-up action projects.

New Environmental Schools Grant
Funded by the City of Pickering, the Environmental Schools Grant offers financial support to school boards to help enable schools in Pickering to implement activities that contribute to a healthy environment.

Ontario Active School Travel
The program is primarily parent-driven but there are many opportunities for involvement of students through classroom activities that link to the Ontario Curriculum.

Ducks Unlimited Canada - Take Action 
Find out more about DUC education programs like Project Webfoot, Greenwing, Interpretive Centres and Wetland Centres of Excellence.

Eco Spark
This group empowers communities to take an active role in their local environment. They do this through providing training and workshops for teachers, eco teams, and youth.

Hinterland Who's Who
This website gives you in-depth descriptions of wildlife, discussions on issues, actions that you can take to help wildlife, and educational materials that teachers and group leaders can use.

Tree Canada
The Tree Canada website has lots of information about trees, including an interactive exploration of Canadian trees and a description of each provincial and territorial tree. There's a section for teachers too.

Recycle Cell Phones for Conservation
The Toronto Zoo provides 100% landfill free cell phone recycling services to individual schools, community groups, corporate environments and many other partners across Ontario.

Battery Recycling Stations
Collecting rechargeable batteries is easy as 1-2-3 and it's free! Participate in this easy and free way to keep toxic waste from entering landfills.

TRCA Environmental Education Programs
Toronto and Region Conservation is a leader in environmental education. Bring your class to one of the unique facilities or invite Watershed on Wheels Program staff into your classroom.

Peregrine Project School Visit
A biologist from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation will give students a presentation on peregrines and brings along a peregrine to show.

Bring Back the Wild School Program
An integrated education and action program all about biodiversity. The goal is to teach students about biodiversity loss in an engaging and interactive format and provide them with tools to help animals at risk across Canada.

EELink - Environmental Education on the Internet
Links to teacher education resources, classroom resources, professional resources and international environmental education programs.

Green Teacher Magazine
This quarterly magazine for educators is full of ideas and activities that can be used to teach youth about environmental issues.

Earth Rangers
Participating in Earth Rangers school programs is an exciting and effective way to engage your students in environmental education and awareness, and inspire them to take action. Earth Rangers school outreach is designed for students in Grades 1-6.

The Ripple Effect: Source Water Protection Video
This captivating short video covers where our drinking water comes from, what happens to water before it gets to our taps and other water related topics. The video is appropriate for high school and late-elementary school students.

Ontario Ecoschools Program                                                                                                             
The Ontario EcoSchools program is designed to engage students of all ages in environmental campaigns and initiatives. Students in younger grades can participate as members of the EcoTeam and can contribute to school-wide activities as a class.

Guide to Conservation Areas in the GTA
This link is to a page that provides an inventory of environmental educational facilities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It might be useful for teachers planning field trips. 

Bring Back the Salmon
The Atlantic Salmon Classroom Hatchery Program is a five-month hands-on lesson on Atlantic salmon and the biodiversity of the Lake Ontario watershed. Salmon raised in classrooms will be released into local streams.

Greening Canada School Grounds
Tree Canada’s tree planting grant program, Greening Canada School Grounds helps support school greening projects, while enhancing the learning experience for students and strengthening their relationship with nature. Tree Canada and its sponsors have greened more than 660 schoolyards across Canada and provided up to $3,500 in available funding per project.