Our Canada Project 2014 Award Winners
The following three schools have been recognized out of over 140 school action projects to receive the first ever LSF/RBC Our Canada Project Award. Each of the award recipients will be given a certificate of achievement acknowledging their successful project. Elmwood High School, the winning school’s sustainability-related action project will receive $3,000. Duke of Connaught Public School, the second place winner, will receive $2,000 and Royal Vale School, the third place school will receive $1,000.
Check out the winning projects these schools have done by reading the summaries below!
Thank you everyone for your wonderful projects! They were amazing – Keep up the great work! We look forward to seeing your student-led action projects next year!
FIRST PRIZE
Green Giants– Elmwood High School- Winnipeg, Manitoba
This post by students at Elmwood contains an excellent description of their school garden that clearly addresses different areas of sustainability: environmental, economic, and cultural, particularly as this last aspect relates to First Nations people. They have also included a link to a very well-done, homemade, animated video on composting, which is a unique submission. Their garden project involves several sub-projects all related to sustainability, which makes it a very well-rounded post. These sub-projects include composting, sustaining native plants, fruits, and vegetables, a butterfly garden, learning about and preparing nutritious meals with their harvest, donating part of their harvest to food banks, the use of rain barrels and an aquifer system, and discussion about First Nations traditions and practices, and how they can be applied to the 21st century classroom.
View their post here and their video here.
Dr. Gerald Farthing, Deputy Minister, Manitoba Ministry of Education and Advanced Learning, a member of Learning for a Sustainable Future’s Board of Directors, along with RBC Regional Vice President Bruce Gehlen, presented the award on Monday, January 19, 2015.
SECOND PRIZE
The Positive Space Room– Duke of Connaught Public School- Toronto, Ontario
This post by students at Duke of Connaught was unique in that it addressed very important social issues that are relevant in schools all over the world. They also included an international component, raising money for Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts. They have included 4 pictures and a very detailed video that shows their project (the positive space room) and the actions that were taken in order to achieve this. They created a whole educational campaign around this project, which makes the space so valuable and appreciated by all students in the school. It will surely carry a legacy at Duke of Connaught.
View their post here and video here.
Dr. David V.J. Bell chair of Learning for a Sustainable Future, presented the award on Thursday, February 19, 2015.
THIRD PRIZE
RVS Grows– Royal Vale School- Montréal, Québec
Students at RVS addressed nature deficit disorder by creating their own vegetable garden in the heart of an urban area. They have documented the progress of their project with several pictures, including its beginning stages indoors under the grow lamp. They involved community members as well, through a workshop on food security, which helped fuel their discussions about the connections between their school garden and mental health, nutrition, and global impact.
Jean Piette, a member of Learning for a Sustainable Future’s Board of Directors, presented the award on Tuesday, January 27, 2015.
View their post here.
For more information please contact:
Joanne Huy
Joanne@lsf-lst.ca
1 877 250 8202