As we look to the school year ahead, one crucial part of a fun and successful EcoSchools program is building a super-powered EcoTeam. Here are a few tips to get started on getting together your best EcoTeam yet!
Recruit EcoTeam members
This is the first and most important step to building your team! Start early: form a green team in September or October to involve students, educators, parents, and school administrators in planning for the year ahead. For a strong green team, strive to have at least three adult participants and representation from each grade level.
Top tip: Remember that EcoTeams aren’t just teachers and students: strive to work alongside parents, school staff, and administration to make the process easier for eager students and hardworking teachers.
Choose your focus
Once you’ve assembled a keen green team, decide on one or more focus areas for your eco-activities. Get a sense of what environmental issues students get excited about, then think realistically about what your school can do to make a difference.
Top tip: Once you have your focus area(s), brainstorm classroom learning, daily practices, and school-wide campaigns that will allow you to make a difference. Go further by extending green behaviours from campaigns to daily actions. Campaigns can be the first step to a longer commitment. For instance, an Earth Hour celebration can become daily Lights-Off lunches for a larger impact.
Get organized
Create committees! Assign roles and tasks to individual team members based on interests and grade levels. For example, younger students can make sure waste is being put in the right place by acting as “Recycling Rangers.” Older students can write weekly announcements to highlight upcoming campaigns.
Top tip: You can also establish committees to run different aspects of your green team based on the six sections of the program; for example, a “Greening the Grounds” committee can take the lead on school ground greening projects, while a “Lights Off” committee can be in charge of monitoring daily practices related to energy conservation.
Communicate and celebrate
Don’t wait until the end of the year to celebrate! Strive to connect with the rest of the school community throughout the year to build momentum and ensure that the EcoTeam is recognized. From weekly “green challenges” to monthly assemblies, there are many creative ways to engage and reward the entire school. Take advantage of what students are already doing, like skits in assemblies, morning announcements, or managing social media accounts.
Top tip: Incentivize and track individual campaigns: collect metrics, record progress, create awards, and share results widely so that each member of the school community understands the impact of their actions.
Here are a couple of amazing EcoTeam quotes we heard from students during school visits last spring. Feel free to send some of your own EcoTeam quotes to outreach@ecoschools.ca, and we’ll share on social media, tagging your school and school board!
“Life doesn’t feel as good if I’m not on the EcoTeam.”
-Grade 5 student, Golden Learning Centre, KPDSB
“We’re not just saving the environment, we’re helping ourselves. You feel better, like you’re actually making a difference.”
-Student, David Suzuki SS, PDSB
“I got to be part of something. We made friends we didn’t think we would.”
-Grade 8 student, St John the Evangelist, TCDSB
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