Vision

The largest seen issue at Waterloo Oxford highschool is littering. The school parking lot and all around the building is covered with litter. The sports fields that are shared between the school and township are often filled with litter. There are not enough garbage cans outside and no recycling cans outside. The garbage cans outside are often overflowing before they get cleaned up. Students drive at lunch and leave their fast food packaging outside their car.

Some staff and students are very concerned about this. This visual problem inspired Students to do an environmental assessment. This allowed them to strategically place waste and recycling receptacles around the school in key spots. Students are also incharge of making sure recycling happens at the school.

Action

Students have done many campaigns throughout the year, including a littering/waste management campaign. Students met with administration as well as township council members to voice concerns and suggest solutions.

Students also took matters into their own hands by purchasing litter grabbers and using them for regular pick up days. Students hope to help the situation and model doing the right thing for the school and the environment.

An education campaign was completed. For the entire second semester students wrote announcements, school instagram posts, hung posters, and made a display on a central bulletin board. Events were held at lunch around the school to promote not only helping our litter problem, but sustainable agriculture, pollinator garden importance, recycling knowledge, local land issues in Wilmot township (farmland and urban planning) as well as in local towns such as the groundwater and ongoing contamination in Elmira (using the documentary “Toxic Time Bomb”).

The students picked local environmental topics. These local topics were near and dear to them. Educating the community to better understand local sustainability is important. Students educated themselves and talked to local environmental experts and policy makers such as the mayor, the township’s urban planner, and the leader of the Grand River Environmental Network. With this knowledge the students were able to teach others in their school, their families at home and network in their community.

Action:
Litter clean up on school property almost weekly
Litter clean up down the road to township office as promotion
Reached out to local policy and changemakers with questions and possible solutions
Monthly awareness campaigns (displays, posters, instagram, announcements, bulletin board, promoting community groups that support) include the topics:
Sustainable agriculture and environmental considerations for urban planning (hot topic here in Wilmot right now!)
Earth Month events
Pollinator facts and seed hand out
Promoting reusable containers by giving out free gatorade to anyone with a water bottle
Educational documentary about local issues in Elmira (Toxic Time Bomb)
Recycling and waste knowledge (trivia game with candy/food prizes)
Waste Management
Groundwater

Reflection & Celebration

Student’s motivating students is the best way to work towards changing habits at Waterloo Oxford. Students have struggled seeing their hard work of waste audits, recycling and picking up litter not be respected by all peers at the school. Littering and waste management are still a big problem at the school. Students in this program feel good about what they are doing and the change they are attempting to create at their school.