Our Canada Project 2016/2017 Award Winners
The following three schools have been recognized out of over 160 school action projects to receive the 2016 LSF/RBC Our Canada Project Award. Each of the award recipients will be given a certificate of achievement acknowledging their successful project in addition to a financial prize to be used for future action projects:
- First place: $3,000.
- Second Place: $2,000
- Third Place: $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
VegFest 2016 – E.L. Crossley Secondary School – Fonthill, ON
E.A.R.T.H. club members at E.L. Crossley hoped to inform their fellow students about the positive impacts a plant-based diet can have on the future of our planet. With the generous support of the Metro Green Apple School Fund and SpeakUp You Are The Student Voice, E.L. Crossley students organized a week of veggie-friendly events organized and run entirely by youth, for youth.
E. L. Crossley’s inaugural VegFest took place in the spring of 2016. The week’s events included a vegan cooking class with a local natural chef, a screening of the documentary Cowspiracy, a smoothie day, vegan salad bar extravaganza, cafeteria games, and a vendor day. VegFest received an overwhelmingly positive response and high levels of student participation each day. 55 kg of fruit was blended into over 400 smoothies, over 225 plates of salad were dished out at the vegan salad bar, and most mornings there were students lining up before the bell to sample tasty treats from local vegan bakeries. The students ran a successful second VegFest in the spring of 2017, and they hope to continue the project into the future!
View their post here and their slideshow here.
At LSF’s annual gala on April 20, 2017, two students from E.L. Crossley gave a presentation about their project to attending business, government, and community leaders. They were then presented with the first place award by Pamela Schwartzberg, President & CEO of Learning for a Sustainable Future, and Monica Bosnjak, Senior Manager of Social Impact at the RBC Foundation.
SECOND PRIZE
Canada’s North – A Balancing Act – David Livingstone Elementary School – Vancouver, BC
These urban students wanted to understand and feel a greater connection to the land. They wanted to learn about our national history and how people in Northern regions survive and thrive today. They wanted to gain a new perspective on life in Canada and ask “what could sustainable Northern development look like?” To answer these questions, these students took a trip to the Yukon to experience nature, industry, culture, traditions, and more. The students camped at Muktuk Adventures and learned about dog-sledding, canoed on the Takhini River and participated in a Trondëk Hwëch’in workshop which focused on methods of catching, drying and preserving fish and Cariboo. Upon their return, each student prepared an inquiry project on topics ranging from dog sledding to climate change. The students then presented their projects to the community to share their learning.
View their post here and additional photos here.
Shirley Chan, Board Member, Learning for a Sustainable Future and Felix Lee, Branch Manager, RBC, presented the award to the David Livingstone Elementary students on June 15th, 2017.
THIRD PRIZE
Solar Greenhouse– École McTavish Junior High – Fort McMurray, AB
Members of the Green Team at École McTavish envisioned a solar greenhouse, created by students, where they could raise awareness of how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle and limit their ecological footprint. Students constructed the greenhouse themselves and are growing a number of vegetables and flowers for their school Culinary Arts program. They are also selling vegetables to the community to help raise awareness about Farm to Table production. The Green Team Students also work in collaboration with the younger grades to teach them how to plant and grow their own food.
View their post here.
Len Savoy, a representative of Learning for a Sustainable Future, and Tana LeBlanc of RBC presented the award on June 12, 2017.
For more information please contact:
Sam Gawron
samantha@lsf-lst.ca
1 877 250 8202