Getting Started
Leading your school board or district to environmental excellence
Getting involved with the EcoSchools program at the school board/district level is a fantastic way to demonstrate commitment to a sustainable future for students, educators, and administrators on a regional scale.
Through membership, school boards and districts have the opportunity
to act as leaders for their schools by promoting the EcoSchools program
as a benchmark for environmental learning and action in Canada, while
employing certification standards modeled after the international
Eco-Schools programme that connects directly to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals.
While schools can certify regardless of whether their board or district has member status, the EcoSchools program becomes an even more effective tool when boards and districts work together with their schools and take a collective impact approach to environmental learning and climate action.
To learn more about certification for schools, visit our What is Certification? page.
Becoming a Member School Board or District
Become an EcoSchools Board or District Member to create system-wide
change and demonstrate commitment to a sustainable future for students, educators, and administrators on a regional scale.
To learn more and view a list of current EcoSchools Member Boards/Districts, visit the Board/District Membership page.
If you are interested in registering for membership or have any questions, please contact us at info@ecoschools.ca.
EcoSchools as a solution to climate change
In September 2019, Ontario’s Rainbow District School Board declared a climate emergency and announced its plan to combat climate change. A key piece of that plan was committing to having 100% of their schools certified as EcoSchools within the next three years, a feat that RDSB achieved in the 2021-22 school year. One strategy for success is having the board’s Environmental Committee issue monthly challenges to schools throughout the year, and being available for questions and guidance through the certification process.
We have also seen Dufferin-Peel Catholic DSB use the EcoSchools framework to set strong climate and environmental goals for their schools — in the 2022-23 school year, 100% of DPCDSB schools certified!