It may be chilly and snowy out there, but that doesn’t mean you have to hibernate! There are plenty of exciting environmental days to celebrate in the coming weeks. Here are a few that you can plan for right now:
Winter Walk Day – Wednesday, February 1
This year, Winter Walk Day kicks off the month of February. Organized by Active and Safe Routes to School, Winter Walk Day invites school communities to get out and get active. Going for a walk is a simple ways to build environmentally-friendly habits – plus it can be a wonderful way for parents, neighbours, and students to enjoy time outdoors before the start of the school day. Stuck on ideas to organize a Winter Walk Day event? Use our Active Transportation Campaign Kit to start.
Schools celebrating Winter Walk Day in February can register their event online and receive a certificate of participation from Canada Walks – a great way for schools to share their eco-initiatives with the wider community!
Follow Canada Walks on Twitter (@CanadaWalks) or Facebook for regular Winter Walk Day news and updates. You can also share your photos using the hashtag #WinterWalkDay and #WalktoSchool.
Certification tip: Winter Walk Day activities can be claimed in the Environmental Stewardship section of the EcoSchools program if the whole school is invited to participate.
World Wetlands Day – Thursday, February 2
Each year, we celebrate wetlands on February 2, which marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971. Why wetlands? They are crucial to resilient communities. They provide habitat to amphibians, birds, and mammals, absorb and filter rainwater (the “kidneys” of ecosystems), and help us deal with extreme weather events. In addition to those essential natural services, wetlands are beautiful places that have a diversity of flora and fauna.
Do you know what the four types of wetlands are here in Ontario? True or false: wetlands are permanently flooded areas. Find the answers here.
What can your school do to support healthy wetlands in your community?
- Use this poster to advertise World Wetlands Day around your school.
- Organize or join a wetlands clean-up or restoration project.
- Be wise with water use – avoid toxic products, like harsh cleaning agents and detergents containing phosphates that could flow into wetlands.
- For the student photographers out there, enter the Wetlands Youth Photo Contest from February 2 to March 2. Students could win a chance to win a free flight courtesy of Star Alliance Biosphere Connections to visit a Wetland of International Importance.
Read more about how wetlands act as a naturals safeguards against disasters.
National Sweater Day – Thursday, February 2
One of the most popular winter campaigns, National Sweater Day involves a simple action to conserve energy: turn down thermostats by a couple of degrees and encourage students to bundle up in cozy sweaters for the day. Sweater Day can be a great starting point to show students that they can be comfortable in lower temperatures – you may even find the students want to extend it to every day!
As explained in our Climate Leadership Tool Kit, heating accounts for 80% of residential energy use in Canada and is a significant source of emissions. If all Canadians lowered their thermostats by just two degrees Celsius this winter (an amount that is barely noticeable), greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by about 4 megatons – equivalent to taking nearly 700,000 cars off the road!
Valentine’s Day – Tuesday, February 14
Last but not least, Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to show how you love and care for the Earth. Like Earth Day, students can take some time to reflect on what they love about the Earth, and get creative by crafting a display for their eco-bulletin board (or other display).
Another idea: if your students usually make and share Valentine’s cards with each other, your EcoTeam can present suggestions on how to make this activity more Earth-friendly, for example by using GOOS paper for cards and sourcing local sweet treats to include instead of mass-produced ones which often come with a lot of packaging.
You can even connect Valentine’s Day to geography class by exploring Google Maps to find heart-shaped land masses! Or, double up on your environmental activities by combining Valentine’s Day and Winter Walk Day: plan a walking tour in your neighbourhood in the shape of a heart, and share the map on social media to challenge nearby schools to do the same.
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