The Ghost River Project

Annette Street Public School, Toronto, Ontario

http://sites.google.com/site/apscouncil/council-and-committees/ecoschools?pli=1

Stobie Creek Shoreline Restoration Project

Central Algoma Secondary School, Desbarats, Ontario

The Central Algoma Freshwater Coalition (CAFC) is pleased to present the Stobie Creek Shoreline Restoration Project which took place on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at Gordon Lake Road, just off highway 17 E in Desbarats ON.  CAFC, in partnership with the Central Algoma Secondary School (CASS), planted 365 tree varieties along the shorelines of Stobie Creek with the help of 100 student volunteers from five classes from CASS.  This comprehensive action project is but one vital first step in the overall goal of restoring streamside buffers and has been made possible by Learning For a Sustainable Future’s action program Project FLOW, who granted $582.50 for equipment and supplies, and Sault College’s Forestry Department, who generously donated 365 tree varieties for this restoration project. 

Banning the Bottle at Randall Public School

Randall Public School, Markham Ontario

My very enthusiastic and motivated grade 6 students from Randall Public School decided to take the initiative to make a change in our school community. These amazing grade sixes took action and decided to put an end to the use of plastic water bottles in our school. We worked extremely hard to learn everything there was to know about the dangers and negative outcomes of plastic water bottles to both the environment and to our health. We then advertised, promoted, and taught our school community about this extremely important issue and urged them to purchase a safe reusable stainless steel water bottle.

All of their hard work truly paid off. After creating countless advertisements, posters, pledge forms that vowed never to use plastic water bottles, and public service announcements we put our own “Randall Public School” stainless steel water bottles up for sale. The demand was incredible! The students were extremely successful in their teaching and promoting that over 200 members of our school community were interested in purchasing their very own Randall water bottle. These students should be extremely proud of themselves for successfully sending the important message about the negative aspects of plastic water bottles to our community. We promoted respect for the earth and encouraged people to think twice before using a product that could damage our precious environment. 

It’s Fair at St. Thomas High School

St. Thomas High School, Pointe Claire Québec

In September 2009, St. Thomas formed a new group called Students for Change. Many students joined the group and ran several campaigns addressing such issues as human rights, children’s rights, fundraising for the victims of Haiti’s earthquake and collection of non-perishable food items for our local food bank. Throughout the year the group would meet to plan and organize new projects and during one of the meetings the students suggested that we open a Fair-trade and eco-friendly store at the school.

The purpose of the store is to raise awareness about Fair-trade practices and also about issues concerning the environment. Selling eco-friendly school supplies and re-usable water bottles is a great match with the store’s mandate. The students started to advertise the store and promote the idea that water needs to be taken care of and that using plastic water bottles was not an environmentally good idea. As the store became more popular with both our students and staff we felt that our message was spreading quickly.

Our hope is that the Fair-trade store , “It’s Fair – Magasin du Monde” will continue to grow and provide our school community with an ever increasing variety of sustainable products.

Taking Action to Promote Sustainable Water Use

Moira Secondary School, Belleville Ontario

The grade 10 Geoventure class at Moira Secondary School in Belleville, Ontario is, “Taking Action to Promote Sustainable Water Use”. For this action project the grade 10 students investigated the health of the local watershed and delivered an interactive workshop to grade 6 students at Harry J. Clarke Elementary School. All of the grade 6 students received reusable water bottles. In addition, the grade 10 students embarked on a 5-day canoe trip and cleaned the shoreline along Buzzard Lake on their layover day. Finally, the students created a display board for Quinte Mall, which will educate the general public on sustainable water use!

Restoring Our Waterways

(Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy; Toronto, ON)

The grade 12 students at Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy found themselves asking numerous questions after watching the documentary entitled Flow: For the Love of Water. Issues such as water distribution and privatization were ones that they had never explored in their four years at high school, but definitely ones that they wanted to address. They used information from the documentary along with their own research to develop an action plan that was supported and funded by Project FLOW. The project was a three-phase plan that involved a shoreline clean-up and a public awareness campaign. During phase one, the students themselves learned about the water crisis and how it affects communities across the globe. They researched interesting water facts and transferred their findings onto T-shirts that they would wear during the clean-up. Not only did the shirts make them look like a unified group, but they were also walking billboards of information!

The next phase involved cleaning and restoring the Harbourfront from Bay Street, the business hub of Toronto, to Bathurst. Volunteers from LSF caught the students in action and the video is posted below, be sure to check it out! And finally, the last and seemingly most important phase was the public awareness campaign. As the students picked up garbage downtown, they also handed out information cards to the public. These info cards included key facts about water, such as the privatization of our rivers and lakes by water bottle companies, the purity of Toronto tap water, and sites where the public could gain more information on these issues. On a later date, the group conducted a series of presentations at their school to share this knowledge with their peers and raise support for Article 31, which simply states that the right to clean drinking water be added to the UN Charter of Human Rights. If you believe in this petition, please show your support by adding your name at article31.org. It's up to you to make sure everyone has access to clean drinking water!

Mudita Shekhawat, Student, Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy

Way to Go, GMS!

(Glanford Middle School; Vancouver Island, BC)

In the spring of 2009, the students at Glanford Middle School participated in a project funded by FLOW. The initiative encouraged students to take action in their local community by involving them in fourteen different water-related initiatives. One initiative that was of particular interest to the students was the clean-up and restoration of Gowlland Tod Provincial Park. The park is known for its rich biodiversity and is one of the last remaining natural areas in Victoria, British Columbia. The Gowlland Range is also used by the First Nations to practice and maintain their medicinal, ceremonial, and spiritual values. The nearly 400 students and staff members helped restore the waterway by removing invasive species, releasing salmon fry, and collecting litter that traced the shoreline.

With the funding from Project FLOW, the students also coordinated and participated in a school symposium. The students created fourteen information booths and water-focused learning centres. Armed with new water knowledge, the students began to inform and educate others. They invited 120 students from two different districts and they presented them wtih pamphlets, displays, and water-related experiments and tests to outline key discoveries and ways to evoke change within the local community. This project would not be possible without funding and support from Project FLOW. The project has provided these students and the local community with avenues to engage young people in community leadership, local activism, and has helped to prepare the leaders of tomorrow.

School-Wide Water Audit

(John Paul I High School; Montreal, QC)

In the upcoming year, John Paul High School will be working on a FLOW Comprehensive Water Action Project. The students at John Paul I High School will examine a wide variety of water issues at their school, including water quality and distribution; the use of plastic water bottles; water waste in the washroom facilities; harmful materials poured down the drain; and improper water drainage. Students will help raise school and community awareness about water usage and improper consumption; change attitudes about water issues; and help reduce school water usage and the number of plastic water bottles in the school. Before and after action projects are implemented, the students will help conduct water audits and surveys.

Becoming River-Watchers

(Souris School; Souris, MB)

In this FLOW R4R Action Project planned for the upcoming school year, the 11/12 Advanced Placement Biology class of the Souris School will sample the Souris River every two weeks when the river is not frozen in order to take water quality assessments using a standard protocol provided by the "River Watch" program. They will share their findings with the community through the Souris Plaindealer, and depending on what their findings are, they will either promote the river as a 'clean' space for swimming, boating, and fishing, or they will expose the problems with the river to see if action needs to be taken to correct the problems. Through their work the students will learn about the important ecological role of the Souris River, as well as the economic and social benefits it offers the community.

Quest for Clean Shorelines

(Dorchester Consolidated School; Dorchester, NB)

The Dorchester Consolidated School Grade 7/8 class will engage in the R4R water Action Project 'Quest for Clean Shorelines.' The project will take place in Palmers Road in Dorchester, New Brunswick, where the students will help clean the shoreline. Students will be taught the importance of sustaining clean water sources in their community, and will work with the Folly First Nations and Village of Dorchester. They will learn that taking environmental action, however small, makes a difference.

Quest for Clean Shorelines

(St. James Catholic School; Ajax, ON)

Between May and June of 2009, 30 Grade 4 students from St. James Catholic School participated in a four-hour long shoreline cleanup in their community.

Students Take-On Storm Water Pollution through Yellow Fish Road Program

(William Berczy Public School; Unionville, ON)

The active students of William Berczy Public School worked with Learning for a Sustainable Future in collaboration with Trout Unlimited Canada to carry out an R4R Water Action Project. These Grade 4-8 students decided to raise awareness about the water pollution caused by pouring pollutants down storm drains. They did this by participating in the Yellow Fish Road Program. Before getting out there to take real action, the students shared their thoughts and ideas surrounding water pollution issues and storm water. Their enthusiasm and passion was overwhelming, and this was most evident when they got outside. They painted 130 storm drains, and handed out 540 informational flyers to neighbouring houses. By the end of the day these students were tired, but proud of the difference they had made.