Dear friends,
It’s that time of year again... back to school. While parents may rejoice and students may cringe, Earth Day® Canada (EDC) is always excited about the opportunity for environmental education.
In this issue of Earth Tones, you’ll read how EDC engages Canadians in environmental education year-round. Whether it’s hosting the Inaugural Ontario-Wide EcoMentors Conference or providing new curriculum-linked lesson plans to teachers across Canada, EDC believes education is the first step to action.
And remember to visit earthday.ca to kick-start your learning today. When it comes to the environment... we’re all students for life.
Jed
EcoMentors Conference
The inaugural Ontario-Wide EcoMentors Conference hosted over 60 youth from across the province in July. Students and interested youth took advantage of a great opportunity to get trained as EcoMentors and learn about environmental issues from subject area experts.
Workshops were presented by Greenest City, Earthroots, Wildlands League, Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, Pollution Probe, South Riverdale Community Health Centre and Green Here.
EDC would like to thank our conference partners, George Brown College and the Toronto Youth Cabinet, and congratulate all of the youth who took advantage of these great training activities and environmental workshops. Good stuff everybody!
EcoKids Back to School
EDC’s EcoKids Program is Canada’s leading environmental education resource for teachers, students and families.
To help everyone get ready for a new school year and make things a little greener, EcoKids recently unveiled
- New lesson plans tailored to Provincial Curriculum Standards
- Free resource kits chalk full of useful classroom resources
- A ‘Homework Help’ section for students
- The revamped Teachers’ Forum to share creative and unique ideas about education and the environment.
And while it may be the beginning of a new school year, it’s never too early to start thinking about what you will do for the 2010 Great EcoKids Challenge. This year’s Challenge focuses on energy. We’re sure your class will get a real charge out of any environmental project they undertake!
Under review, but open for business
The application deadline for the first granting period of the EDC Community Environment Fund (CEF) has come and gone. But don’t fret. We are now accepting applications for the second granting period.
Not-for-profit organizations and schools across Ontario have the opportunity to secure up to $20 000 in funding to develop sustainable projects that educate and inspire action in their community. The application deadline for the second granting period is February 28, 2010.
In the meantime, EDC and Sobeys would like to thank and congratulate all of the CEF applicants from the first granting period. Winners will be announced in mid-October.
Environmental education turns to action
EDC’s EcoAction Teams Program is helping Canadians reduce their impact on the environment every day. And guess what, these fun and simple environmental tips and actions are adding up to a big impact.
To date, over 5 000 participating households have saved
- $1.5 Million in household expenditures
- More than 34 000 tonnes of greenhouse gases
- Over 80 000 bags of garbage
- 260 Million litres of water—that’s the equivalent of 100 Olympic sized swimming pools!
Save with the EcoAction Teams Program and be part of something big. Visit www.earthday.ca to get started.
Cascades: a waterfall of support
Cascades has supported EDC’s Hometown Heroes Award Program since 2004. To date, it has honoured 58 heroes from across Canada for their leadership in creating and implementing projects that benefit the environment.
Cascades also has a pretty unique history. One of the first management principles of the company, re-using resources, is still being applied 45 years after its founding. Today, recovery and recycling are recognized environmental values that Cascades promotes around the world. With more than 2.2 million tonnes of old paper and cardboard re-used as raw material in their plants, instead of being sent to a landfill, Cascades in making a big impact in support of a healthier environment.
To read more about Cascades environmental initiatives and accomplishments, visit www.cascades.com.
Calling all aspiring film makers
Earth Day Canada is teaming up with the Toronto Urban Film Festival to run an Earth Day® video contest in the New Year. All entries must be one minute in length without sound. Winning videos will be played in April 2010 on the 270 video monitors in Toronto’s subway stations (over a million viewers a day). We will be announcing the theme, prizes and judging process in December. Stay tuned (and tell your friends!).
EDC joins Robert Bateman for tour of southern Ontario
Golden Eagle Art Gallery is conducting three Robert Bateman Art Shows in southern Ontario next month and asked Earth Day Canada to join Robert Bateman at the events.
The shows take place October 20 in London; October 27 in Toronto; and October 31 in Stouffville. Robert Bateman will make presentations at all three events. He will also autograph art purchased at the shows. Jed Goldberg, EDC President will speak to the importance of environmental education for children before Robert’s presentations.
For more information, please contact eagleart@bellnet.ca. We hope to see you there!
First sustainability expo comes to Atlantic Canada
On November 21-22, 2009, the first sustainability expo will take place at Exhibition Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your business, government organization, or not-for-profit to thousands of eco-minded consumers, while taking in a series of guest speakers, cooking demonstrations, and several attractions, including a Ride and Drive, Eco-Fashion Show, Green Kids-Corner and Silent Auction.
Don’t miss this opportunity to position your organization as a key-player in the sustainability movement. For more information, please visit www.atlanticecoexpo.com or email info@atlanticecoexpo.com
Support Earth Day Canada
Since 1990, Earth Day® Canada has continually created truly innovative approaches to conservation across Canada. To continue this work we hope you will consider making a gift of $25, $50, or more. A tax receipt will be issued for each donation.
To donate online, visit Earth Day® Canada’s website.
You can also mail a cheque to Earth Day® Canada:
111 Peter St., Suite 503
Toronto, ON, M5V 2H1
Attention: Jed Goldberg, President, Earth Day Canada
Earth Day® Canada is a registered adherent to Imagine Canada’s Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code. Earth Day Canada is a registered charity (#13195 1378 RR0001).
