With the days growing longer and winter loosening its grasp, April is the perfect time to plan some new green campaigns both indoors and out. You can claim many of these activities in your certification application—don’t forget to review the 2018-19 Certification Guides for full criteria and to see where the activity fits best.
A reminder: If you’re planning a campaign that will happen after the final EcoReview deadline of April 26, you can still claim it! Fill out the online templates now and add evidence of planning notes as your portfolio document, e.g. a ravine clean-up, Stream of Dreams, or a walk/roll to school day.
April: A time to get active!
April is the perfect time to get outdoors and participate in some action transportation and exercise. Here are some resources that will help you plan lessons and campaigns:
- Spring into Spring is an initiative organized by Ontario Active School Travel that encourages walking and wheeling to and from school. Check out their ideas for activities and events you can run with your school community, like holding a rainwear fashion show or spring walk parade.
- Discover our Active Transportation Campaign Kit and use it to organize and run walk- or wheel-to-school events. These could be one-time, monthly or weekly campaigns—the key is to develop something that works for your specific school community.
- Take students outside and hold a nature walk or scavenger hunt, or learn about tree identification by creating field journals.
- Don’t forget to claim your lessons and campaigns in the Curriculum and Environmental Stewardship sections—see the Certification Guide for full details.
National Wildlife Week: April 7-13
The Canadian Wildlife Federation’s National Wildlife Week is an opportunity to explore and celebrate the needs of Canadian wildlife and our connection with it.
- Visit the National Wildlife Week’s event page for resources and activities.
- Bring wildlife learning to the local level by using and adapting our Nearby Nature lesson plans on studying rock doves and ants.
- Investigate the needs of wildlife by building butterfly habitats, or adapting the lesson to other creatures in your community such as toads, insects, bats or birds. Also consider discussing the impact of human development on wildlife habitat spaces.
Earth Week and Earth Day: April 16-22
Earth Week in 2019 begins on April 16, and culminates on April 22—Earth Day! If a week seems like too short a celebration for you, expand your efforts and declare April as Earth Month! However you celebrate, this is the perfect time to plan, host and run whole school campaigns that can be claimed in questions 6.1-6.4 of your online application. Examples of portfolio documentation can include:
- A copy of an announcement/newsletter/poster regarding the whole school’s participation in a campaign; be sure to clearly connect the action to learning about a particular environmental issue.
- A picture of a special assembly or presentation engaging the whole school in action relating to a particular environmental issue.
Wondering where to get started and what kind of campaigns to run?
- Tap into our Earth Week Activity Ideas to craft a campaign that’s meaningful to your school community.
- Don’t be intimidated! Start small and focus on your students’ interests. Think about your EcoTeam’s capacity to plan events inviting the whole school to participate and focus your efforts on one or two activities that will get the school engaged. You can always build on successful activities for next year’s edition!
- Check out Earth Day Canada’s website for more resources, tips and helpful info.
Pitch-in Canada Week: April 22-29
Melting winter snow can reveal a lot of accumulated garbage and litter. Pitch-in Canada is a great way to organize a school ground clean-up campaign.
- Take your clean-up to the broader community and register your event to help get the word out. Take advantage of Pitch-in Canada’s handy resources and tips for running a safe clean-up.
- Check out our Waste Minimization resources and discover all the ways to incorporate waste reduction into the classroom and whole school community.
Remember, sharing photos, videos, and messages is a great way to demonstrate your environmental commitment, and always puts smiles on our faces! Please tag us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and let us know what you’re up to.
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