How old were when you joined your school’s EcoTeam, what was the reason you got involved then, and what has kept you so committed?
I joined my elementary school’s EcoTeam around Grade Five. It was a new club and I was interested in becoming one of the EcoTeam representatives for my classroom. My best friend had joined too, and we both enjoyed meeting other students. I thrived having the responsibility of collecting compost, giving announcements, drafting posters, and generating new ideas.
The staff team at my school was very supportive of the EcoSchools program and the staff leaders of the EcoTeam were extremely passionate and motivated. They inspired and encouraged students like myself to engage fully with the EcoTeam, and with their help I became intrinsically motivated to make our school more sustainable.
The whole process was a positive feedback system, where successful and rewarding meetings, initiatives, and events drove me to continuing my involvement. The moment I began high school, I actively sought out their version of the EcoTeam, joining the Green Team within my first couple months of Grade Nine. The Green Team was a smaller and older team comprised of very dedicated and competent students. The new challenge was the enormous increase in population and building size between elementary and high school, making planning and execution of initiatives more intricate and time-consuming. Reaching a greater number of less keen staff and students was a task that our team tackled over my four years at Holy Cross.
Never could I have imagined the contrast between my high school and university! With over 20,000 students, making my school more sustainable was the most challenging it had ever been. I had to narrow my focus on smaller, more attainable initiatives that would directly impact student life as it was now a student-lead group, one of many on campus, that was trying to make a difference.
Tell us about your EcoTeam journey and what kind of campaigns and special initiatives you were involved in.
In elementary school, I joined the EcoTeam once I had learned about its purpose and the fact that many of my friends were also involved. As a dedicated and serious member, I was granted special privileges like staying in for recess to work on a project or visiting the staff room to collect compost. Our meetings were enjoyable and we were given a lot of creative freedom. The EcoTeam was a safe space to be curious, inquisitive, and challenging of our social norms with respect to the environment. I learned a lot about responsibility, communication, accountability, imagination, and of course what it means to be sustainable. Each year, we would try to improve our performance compared to last year. There was measurable success from year-to-year which was satisfying.
Some special campaigns included tree planting, the implementation of a recycling and compost program, the “Boomerang Lunch” waste reduction campaign, the school wide yard cleanups for Earth Day, the Earth Day assemblies, the construction of a Peace Garden with native plants, and the design of videos promoting different environmental topics and the EcoTeam.
In high school, I joined the Green Team as soon as I possibly could. I was eager to share my elementary school experiences, which I was unbelievably proud of. I began as the team’s Secretary, and eventually became a Co-Chair in my final year. My role throughout my four years was establishing a theme for the year, and then planning initiatives and events that complement the chosen theme or issue selected. I learned the challenges of a much larger and more diverse school, and enjoyed more responsibility than what I had had in the past. The Green Team was not as popular as it was in elementary school, but I learned to be proud of this involvement and found that it really defined my high school experience for this reason. The smaller group size allowed me to form strong relationships with the students and staff involved, making a really close-knit group that deeply motivated me to work together with others to make things happen.
Our most special campaigns included implementing and executing a staff room compost program, building a large garden where the food was donated to our school’s cafeteria and local organizations, creating “GOOS” (good on one side) paper boxes for the staff photocopy rooms, campaigning and raising money for new water fountains that included a water bottle refill option, decorate each of the water fountains with a large student-made painting surrounding the theme of water sustainability, celebrating Earth Hour each year by encouraging classrooms to reduce their energy consumption, and compiling and presenting data that showed the energy usage and waste production of each classroom through organized audits. I feel most strongly connected to my high school team because of the people and initiatives it involved.
In university, I actively sought out an environmental club within my first month at school, however experienced a conflict: there were multiple groups under different umbrellas, and with slightly varying mandates. Where was my Green Team?
The one I chose to apply to (also a new experience, having to be selected) was a student group within my faculty. I began as a Secretary, in second year assumed a role as a Logistics & Socials Coordinator, and finally in third year became one of the Co-Chairs for the Committee for the Environment. I struggled to understand the capabilities of such a small but highly-skilled group of students, and was discouraged by the enormous size of my school. I found comfort in the smaller-scale events we hosted, convinced that we were fulfilling our roles if even a couple students benefited and thought about sustainability. I learned about the harsh reality of environmentalism in real life: that many people don’t care. I had to expand my knowledge of marketing and social media usage to benefit our committee.
Some of the initiatives I am most proud of include clothing swaps, reusable beverage container campaigns, planning field trips to Kingston conservation areas, whiteboard campaigns in busy student buildings, and raising money for a local environmental organization. Given my Gold EcoSchool status elementary and high schools, my university experience has left me proud of and nostalgic about my past. I have such high expectations now because of my past EcoSchools experience.
What support did you receive from teachers, principals, and other staff at your schools?
Staff played a gigantic role in both elementary and high school. In elementary school, meetings are chaired exclusively by staff. It is the staff that generate many ideas, fill out paperwork and proposals, and put a lot of time into inspiring young students. Tasks given to students had to be directly supervised, with significant input and often discipline. Nonetheless, the entire staff team had to be on board with some initiatives, so truly the entire school was a source of support to the EcoTeam. I must mention how grateful I was for the caretaking staff who adapted to the (then) newly-introduced waste disposal system.
In high school, fewer staff and students were involved. Those staff members who were involved donated countless hours to Green Team projects, and those who were not directly involved showed their support in other ways. The bake sales, energy audits, Earth Hour announcements, garden planting, and artwork displays would not have been possible without the cooperation and support from the teachers and principals.
As mentioned earlier, my Committee for the Environment at Queen’s was entirely student run and student supported. The groups that we collaborated with were also student ran, meaning that we did not directly interact with Queen’s staff but they undoubtedly are playing a role in Queen’s sustainability!
How do you think your years on the EcoTeam has shaped your current path – in school, work, and personally?
The EcoTeams that I’ve been a part of have shaped my identity. Some of the opportunities I’ve been given have been a direct result of my involvement and hard work with the environmental team. The knowledge and inspiration that I’ve gained through my EcoTeams carries over into every aspect of my life, and into the lives of those around me. The EcoSchools program begins in the classroom, but extends into the community. Students are inventive vehicles of change and can easily become empowered by a cause that they believe in. I personally became a better student, citizen, and environmentalist because of my EcoTeams.
How do you stay inspired as an environmental advocate? What are the key environmental issues and areas (local, regional, global) that concern you now?
There are so many issues that plague our environment, and cause me a great deal of grief. Some problems seem so widespread and large that at times I feel powerless. I try to learn about environmental issues at every level in order to feel more connected to present problems. Watching a nature or environmental documentary every so often reignites my frustration with humans and their lack of respect for the environment, and amidst my many distractions in life, I think it is healthy every so often to be regrounded. Talking with and working with other inspired environmental advocates keeps me inspired, as everyone has different concerns and approaches to these concerns. Engaging with those who are not environmental advocates brings out my inner advocate in that I am urged to educate them with what little knowledge I have to share.
I have a soft spot for animals, specifically birds, fish, and large mammals, so one of my biggest environmental concerns is species and habitat loss. Keystone and flagship species are going extinct at an alarming rate, and it is heartbreaking that once we drive them off of this earth, they are gone forever. Each species has a special niche in the food web that is relied upon by other species, and this extinction not only threatens the ecosystem but suggests that some human interference must be studied, monitored, or banned.
Another concern of mine is pollution, given that it extends into every sphere of the earth. Pollution can be found harming animals and humans in the air, water, soil, as well as in our food and manufactured goods. Many courses that I have taken have scientifically quantified how much pollution humans output, and the numbers are terrifying. Many of our man-made products do not decompose, and many of the environments that we damage cannot easily be remediated. We are hurting ourselves, but this fact won’t be evident until death by contaminated or a lack of food, fresh air, and clean water is more common in developed countries.
A final fear of mine is deniers of climate change, especially when they are in a position of political power. I strongly believe that the most impactful changes must come from our government in the form of legislature, taxes, and restrictions. There is no denying climate change. I see now that it is a complex subject, and even in my years of compiling evidence, I still stumble to give clear and compelling arguments in favour of climate change. The single most important part of the movement is educating those around us, and exercising our right to vote to put people who care about the environment in power.
What tips would you give to students who want to get involved in environmental initiatives at their school?
Absolutely give it a try! You will never know unless you try, and you’ve got nothing to lose. Working on environmental initiatives with your peers takes time, energy, attention, and creativity, and the experience is rewarding, inspiring, engaging, and memorable. With EcoSchools, you are truly able to make a difference in your school community, and the need for student environmentalists is more important than ever. You have the power to educate yourself and others! See fruits of your labor and be a force of change in and outside of the classroom. This attitude extends to your family and friends outside of school, but know that you will always have the support of the school behind you.
I can’t stress enough how impactful EcoSchools was in my life and development and I urge anyone interested to actively seek out or create environmental initiatives at their school. If there is no EcoTeam, talk about it with your teacher or principal, and see if maybe a small team would be possible. Share some of your ideas, and maybe you’ll be the inspiration that starts the wonderful EcoSchools journey at your school!
What tips would you give to teachers or other adults on how to best support the students on the EcoTeams?
Teachers at school are critical to the success of an EcoTeam. Some staff form and lead the team, providing the basis of every activity. Their knowledge, wisdom, affirmation, and time are invaluable. Least proximally, teachers have many opportunities to support environmental initiatives. Whether it be personally attending or congratulating events or initiatives or promoting these initiatives to their students, teachers are necessary for EcoTeam growth and sustainability. Volunteering their classrooms or students for pilot projects fuels the success of new ideas, and provides a platform for learning alongside of the curriculum.
I appreciated the staff members who made the effort to learn about the team, and ask HOW they could best help. Often these staff members best supported students by offering their assistance in any way possible, as initiatives and events differ so drastically each year, and between schools.
Adults can support students as well by valuing their input. Students will be more intrinsically motivated to save our planet if they can incorporate their own ideas and create a creative legacy. The staff at my elementary school were the main reason I first joined the team, and I can’t stress enough the value of positive encouragement and constructive feedback from staff members who act as our role models in life.
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