Here’s a rundown of what happened for ILSC’s Earth Month:
Lights Out Week/Day! Lights were turned out for 15 minutes a day at various campuses, either for a week or for one day each week. This visual cue was a great way to make everyone more aware about energy consumption.
Use Less Tuesdays at ILSC-Toronto – Students were encouraged to bring school lunches with no waste (ie. no saran wrap, no garbage, and everything either edible or reusable). Students who met the challenge received some exciting prizes!
Waste Less Wednesdays at ILSC-Toronto – Students were encouraged to avoid taking disposable styrofoam containers for take away food.
No Cup Thursdays at ILSC-Toronto – Everyone was challenged to switch to reusable water bottles and mugs instead of using disposable cups or bottled water.
Best Mug Competition at ILSC-San Francisco – Yes, that’s a reused Jar!
Best Mug Competition
– Staff at various campuses competed in the Best Mug Competition, showing off their cool reusable travel mugs that help them reduce waste! Our Best Mug competitions proved that going green can be stylish, fun and simple!
Stair Challenge at ILSC Montréal – Have you ever thought about the energy an elevator uses? Stair Challenge was good for the planet and good for health!
Creative Student Projects – Students got involved both inside and outside of the classroom creating artistic projects from recycled materials, informative posters, Earth day themed videos, and in-class speeches about how to make a positive environmental impact.
Afterschool activities – Montréal students could participate in two eco-themed afternoon activities including a trip to a fair trade store called 10,000 Villages, where students got to sample fair trade chocolate and learn about Fair trade. Students also visited Montréal’s Biosphere, a popular spot to learn about environmental issues and science.
Students Get Creative with Recycled Art Projects!
Leaning Tower of Recycling
– The Vancouver campus creating a “Leaning Tower of Recycling” which was filled with misplaced recyclables collected from around the campus.
The Clean Bin Project – ILSC-Vancouver students got to watch a unique documentary called the Clean Bin Project. A local Vancouver couple challenged each other to go a year without creating *any* waste, and not buying any new material goods, and they documented their valiant efforts on film. What an inspiring project!
A Forest Full of Promise Trees –Promise Trees sprouted up across ILSC campuses. Promise trees were made from recycled materials, waste wood, and paper, and students and staff could write down promises to the planet and attach them to the trees. Some of the promises people have made include “I promise to turn off the printer at the end of the day and print out less….,” “I promise to take the stairs once a day!”, and “I promise to buy my own reusable mug.” The Promise Trees are about extending Earth Month throughout the whole year!
Tree Planting Ceremony – ILSC-Toronto finished their Earth Month activities with a tree-planting ceremony this past Saturday!
Excellent Guest Speakers – Various schools had some awesome guest speakers come in to share their knowledge. These included reps from BC Hydro, and Toronto Hydro who came to Vancouver and Toronto schools to talk about ways to save energy. Brian Burke did a Waste Audit at the Vancouver campus, demonstrating how many recyclable or compostable materials could be found in the trash, and offering an impactful visual display of how much waste we produce unnecessarily! Rachel Kamen came to ILSC-San Francisco and talked about the Importance of Volunteering in the Community, and a guest speaker also came to talk about health, fitness and the outdoors. Guest speakers provided some great, and expert wisdom on what we can all do to make a positive difference in the world.
Wow! What a month!
We hope that all of this exciting Earth Month momentum carries onward throughout the year, and inspires our students, staff and teachers to work together to keep our planet healthy and happy!
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