Students at two North Shore schools are being honoured for their eco-actions this year -- and just in time for Earth Day celebrations.
West Vancouver's Rockridge secondary and Chartwell elementary each won $1,000 for their video entries to the third annual B.C. Green Games, a province-wide competition managed by Science World that seeks to motivate green action in schools.
The contest saw 139 video entries -- each documenting students' environmental initiatives -- from 39 school districts across British Columbia. A panel of judges selected the top 10 entries from both the elementary and secondary levels, and provided each school with $1,000 to put toward environmental initiatives. The contest's viewer's choice winners will also receive $500 for their schools.
Grade 11 Rockridge students Kelsey Dennison and Callum Keltin, who produced the school's winning video with the help of fellow environment club members, said they wanted to capture all the different types of initiatives the club pursued over the last year.
"We really wanted to show everyone else all the work that we've been doing because we've achieved so much," Keltin said. "We thought we could be an example for other schools and show other schools that if we can do it, they can do it too."
The three-minute video highlighted the club's environment-focused initiatives, including recycling and composting, and helping to incorporate composting into the Grade 8 Food Studies curriculum.
For Arlene Anderson, the Rockridge librarian who works with the environment club, the club's push to integrate environmental consciousness into the classroom is a major success.
"One of our biggest breakthroughs is that teachers are now incorporating some of the things that began with our environment club into their curriculum," Anderson said. "It's becoming a culture in our school."
According to Dennison, the club plans to put the $1,000 towards a number of upcoming projects, including the construction of an organic vegetable garden at the school.
"That way, the cooking class can use fresh produce, making the cooking more local," she said. "The money is great for us. It gives us the freedom to pursue the ideas we have to make community more sustainable."
A group of Grade 7 students on the Chartwell Elementary Green Team focused their award-winning video on the school's recycling and waste reduction efforts.
According to Michelle Turvey, a Chartwell teacher and leader of the Green Team, the students focused on reducing their waste during the Christmas season -- making Christmas ornaments out of recycled material, re-distributing lightly used, unwanted toys amongst staff and students, and using recycled wrapping materials.
Schools across the province that participated in the B.C. Green Games will celebrate their eco-actions on Earth Day -- Thursday, April 22.
