Vision

We created a team vision statement for the 2024-2025 school year. While we have not decided if we will change our “Environmental Code” or statement each year, it was pertinent to the learning we have all experienced as students and staff.

“Learning and Growing together.

Protecting the Earth, Preserving the Future.”

Action

We decided to name this initiative “The Snowball Effect”, because it has literally and figuratively snowballed throughout the year. We started with the goal of having fish in the existing aquaponics setup, to grow some of our own plants. We have expanded to include hydroponics, sustainable hatching, live streaming our projects, collaborations with other local environmental groups and entrepreneurs, the list goes on. We have been blessed with so many people who have shown us their passions for bees, black currants, endangered species and we have other collaborations coming up in June and this fall.

Hydroponics – When the school year started, we did not have any hydroponics kits and we now have 13, some of which students in the school made themselves! We have prepared and grown a number of herbs and vegetables; tomatoes, peppers, basil, thyme, kale, spinach, lettuce, etc.

Chick and Duck Hatch – We had a successful hatch with our new incubator, we have 7 healthy bantam hens that have joined our school population. This has been an amazing SEL activity and to see the student population come together, we saw an increase in school collaboration and culture. They are staying with a teacher on staff and we hope to supply the eggs for next year’s hatch. The ducks are still incubating, but we have 12 fertilized eggs and they have been developing well!

Green meals and locally sourced foods/foraging – Our growing ventures have been both indoor and outdoor and we are focusing on sustainable practices and self-sufficiency. We invested in a full class set of reusable dishes for our green snack and meals. The favorite taste test so far has been the roasted kale chips! Most students “surprisingly” loved the kale!

Air quality plants – We initially bought two spider plants and propagated them to create six total plants, we discussed exponential growth and how quickly we can make an impact. We bought another bigger plant and made 15 new plants. We have been “serving plants” and every class in the school has a new plant from our initiatives.

Recycling Program – Good on one side paper journey and recycling blitz. We have incorporated the GOOS Bins to utilize a lot of the paper within the building. Given the population of our school (approx. 700 students) we can use the paper for other purposes! In classes for scraps, pots for plants, etc. We also have been in the process of hosting a school Recycling Blitz to raise money for our initiatives.

We have a TO-DO list entering the next school year, and we cannot wait to continue growing.

Reflection & Celebration

We think that when students see adults or teachers learning new skills and willinging to take a “scary” leap into uncharted waters, it creates a meaningful learning opportunity that strengthens the deep learning experience.

We are having a celebration to end the year, we still have to plant some of our trees and shrubs, raised beds and we have our composting tumblers to assemble. We will have a Green Inspired meal and snacks for our last meeting. We are also having a representative come in to present the Environmental Club members with certificates on the last day of school for the end of year assembly. We want to celebrate all of the trials and errors, successes and failures, we have learned so much this year, through tribulations, it has only lead to growth as people and protectors of the environment.

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