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Gone are the days of simple recycling! The York Catholic District School Board has come a long way in environmental conservation, and many of our schools feature high-tech, innovative and effective technologies that are shaping the way we protect our Earth.
The board’s Environmental Services Department has been working hard to ensure our schools are as “green” as possible. Just this year, 39 York Catholic schools were declared EcoSchools. EcoSchools is a province-wide environmental education and certification program for Grades K-12 that helps school communities become more environmentally responsible and reduce the environmental footprint of school buildings.
To apply to be an EcoSchool, staff and students must complete five steps: 1 - Establish a school EcoTeam made up of staff, students and volunteers; 2 – Conduct an EcoReview, to determine what the school is doing well and what needs improvement; 3 – Develop an action plan; 4 – Implement the action plan; and 5 – Monitor and evaluate progress.
Schools are certified based on their achievement in four key areas: energy conservation, waste minimization, ecological literacy and school ground greening. Schools can be certified at the bronze, silver or gold EcoSchool status, depending on how successful the school is at meeting the requirements of the program.
Out of the 39 York Catholic schools that were certified at one of the three levels, 15 of the schools are new to the list and 24 schools were re-certified. Yearly re-certification is required by EcoSchools. This year, St. Margaret Mary Catholic Elementary School in Woodbridge was given gold-level certification and earned the highest combined marks in the four categories out of the 39 certified schools.
The York Catholic District School Board also has its own board-wide programs to help reduce our environmental footprint. The board’s successful in-house Energy Champions program continues to expand, with most of the 101 schools on board.
Energy Champions is an awareness program designed to educate staff and students about energy conservation in schools. Each Energy Champion school receives a 40-inch LCD screen that displays information to staff and students about the school’s energy consumption. Each classroom also receives a custom-designed LED sign with the words, “Save Energy.” These signs flash when the school’s energy use has exceeded their target and students and staff are given steps they can take to reduce the energy use, such as turning off non-essential lights.
The Energy Champion program first launched in 2008 at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Elementary School in Richmond Hill. Since then, the program has been implemented at almost all York Catholic schools. Energy Champion schools typically see the energy consumption drop by approximately 10 percent, which helps the board reduce its environmental footprint and operating costs. All computers in the school have access to the school's energy data website http:\\energychampion.ycdsb.ca.
The Energy Champion program is proving to be very effective on a number of levels and is now being studied and copied by other educational institutions in Ontario and abroad.
Many schools at York Catholic also use photovoltaic panels to generate energy from the sun. This innovative initiative is being used successfully at three elementary schools and four high schools, with a fifth scheduled to receive the photovoltaic panels.
Not only does York Catholic harness the power of the sun, but Cardinal Carter Catholic High School in Aurora now has a wind turbine system that provides energy to the school. Water conservation is also top of mind at St. Cecilia Catholic Elementary School - one of York Catholic’s three newest elementary schools. The school’s rain water recovery system collects rain water, which is then treated and used to flush the school’s toilets.
York Catholic’s students know the importance of spreading the word about green initiatives and how each individual can make a difference. St. Justin Martyr Catholic Elementary School in Unionville recently hosted an environmental film festival, sponsored in part by Planet in Focus. Students from York Catholic and the York public board attended and viewed films, including St. Justin students’ film, “What’s in Your Waste?”The film showed audiences that 74% of the “garbage” the school produced in one day could actually be diverted away from landfills through the blue and green bin programs.
York Catholic is looking forward to implementing even more earth-friendly programs. The board has recently formed a new partnership with the board’s lighting supplier, Powertrade Electric, to offer a lamp/light bulb recycling program to all facilities. Burned-out bulbs will be collected and recycled at Aevitas, a licensed recycling facility. It is estimated that this new and exciting program will divert over 25,000 bulbs from the waste stream annually.
The board’s dedicated Environmental Services Department works hard to create new opportunities for York Catholic schools to save, acquire and use energy in creative and forward-thinking ways.
"Thanks to the overwhelming support from everyone at YCDSB, we have accomplished great strides in environmental awareness through a variety of programs and renewable projects,” said Norm Vézina, Senior Manager of Environmental and Office Services at York Catholic. “This helps the board reduce its overall ecological footprint."