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Varsity Acres Elementary Environment Club – Changing School Culture

Ask the students who are part of the Varsity Acres Environment Club how they can make a difference in helping the earth and they will give you lots of ideas of things that can be done to reduce our ecological footprint.   It is this ‘we can make a difference’ attitude that has fuelled dozens of environmental projects at the NW Calgary school over the past few years.  Meeting on Tuesdays in the library to plan and take action to help the environment has been an important part of this 14 member group’s school year.

Students have led the charge to green the school yard in the past year.  In the photo above, a student is shown taking pride in one of the trees that were planted as part of a naturalization project.  “Planting trees not only makes the schoolyard look more beautiful but also provides homes for insects and birds,” a student shared.

The Varsity Acres Environment Club took on a major waste reduction initiative this school year called ‘Waste Free Wednesdays’.  On this day, students were encouraged to use reusable lunch containers to reduce the amount of waste generated from lunch.  The Environment Club, under the direction of Teacher Allison Hull, monitored lunch waste before, during, and after the initiative to determine the success of the initiative.  Students at Varsity Acres reported a large decrease in the amount of lunch waste created on Waste Free Wednesdays.

Varsity Acres has been involved with the Destination Conservation program over the past number of years and has been a recent recipient of the DC Waste Campaign of the Year award.  The school also participates in a number of other environmental programs including the Elementary Outdoor School program and trips to natural areas.

Congratulations to the Varsity Acres Environment Club for their successful environmental initiatives that help students learn about the earth and our place in the complex interrelationships found on our planet.

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Web Administrator: L. Diemert
Last Modified: September 24, 2011