EcoSchools Certification 2010-11
Welcome back everyone! Our community of amazing EcoSchools continues to grow. A record total of 1,234 schools certified as EcoSchools last June including three new boards implementing EcoSchools. Welcome Grand Erie, Waterloo Catholic and London Catholic!

Essential Resources for Certification 2010-11: The updated Guide to Online Certification 2010-11 is where you’ll find: this year's timeline which is useful for planning, all the portfolio requirements including new environmental stewardship portfolio requirements and new ideas on getting your classroom outside.

Program guides Introduction to EcoSchools and the Five-step Process, Waste Minimization, and Energy Conservation have also been revised and are ready for downloading.

Ontario's First "Walk-Only" School
P. L. Robertson Public School opened its doors on January 4th 2010, as Ontario’s first “walk-only” school, thanks to the implementation of the Active and Safe Routes to School program. As a new school, P.L. Robertson hopes to instill new beliefs and practices in parents and their children from day one, encouraging an active transport culture.

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Green Corridor along Canada’s Border becomes an Outdoor Classroom  
Last May, ten Grade 6, 7 and 8 students from the LaSalle Public School EcoTeam had the opportunity to learn lessons about ecology and the environment in an unusual location – along one of North America’s busiest international border routes. They took part in a hands-on pilot program that is being developed by the Green Corridor, the Faculty of Education, and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) at the University of Windsor.
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Communicating with your EcoTeam: Crestwood's EcoTeam Website
Communication is an important element of team-building and a website is an easy way to get your EcoSchools message out to the whole school community. Crestwood has created a beautiful felt-inspired design for their elementary EcoTeam website.

Thornlea Secondary wins Worm Chalet
Four students from Devorah Salsberg’s Gr. 12 World Issues class won first prize in the Toronto Star Trash Talk Contest. The students submitted a research project and proposal for organic composting in their school. 

The photo to the left shows the winners examining the worms that will occupy the Worm Chalet provided by Cathy’s Crawly Compost. The students also received a $500 gift certificates from Loblaws.

The school has great plans to incorporate the vermicomposter into their Food and Nutrition classes and perhaps grow herbs for the program using the worm castings.

Waste Reduction Week is October 18-24
Check out the Waste Reduction Week website for information on how to plan activites for that week. Also watch out for our October newsletter which will focus on waste issues.