The Halton District School Board is proud to announce 52 schools have received EcoSchools certification this year including, 3 schools in Oakville that have received the certification for the last 5 years. The 3 Oakville schools are: Eastview Public School, Forest Trail Public School, and Maple Grove Public School.
Certification ranges from Bronze to Platinum through Ontario EcoSchools, a voluntary certification program that recognizes and celebrates schools for their environmental learning and action. In Halton, one school received Bronze, 26 schools Silver, 20 schools Gold, and five schools Platinum. Within this group, seven schools have achieved certification for an impressive five consecutive years, joining other Halton schools with similar accreditation milestones.
The certification relates to benchmarks reached in numerous initiatives including:
- energy conservation,
- waste minimization,
- school ground greening,
- environmental lessons and
- field trips connected to the Ontario curriculum, and
- environmental stewardship projects and events.
“This is a significant accomplishment that involves school-wide teamwork and leadership on the part of students, staff, and community members,” said Suzanne Burwell, the Board’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator. “We commend our schools for their efforts and wish them continued success in all aspects of environmental and sustainability education.”
Schools are recognized for achievement based on a provincial standard of environmental excellence, with an emphasis on student leadership.
Ontario EcoSchools operates with support from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and is administered by York University.