Upper Grand first public school board in Ontario to earn full eco certification

The Upper Grand District School Board is the first public school board in the province to have all of its schools certified by Ontario EcoSchools.

Of the 76 schools in the board, which includes public elementary and high schools in Guelph and Wellington county, four schools received platinum status, 45 were gold, 19 silver and 8 bronze.

The board reached its goal of 100 per cent certification a year earlier than it had hoped to, officials said.

Ontario EcoSchools is an organization dedicated to helping schools become more environmentally responsible. It is the only voluntary certification program in the province that recognizes schools for environmental learning and action.

Karen Acton, environmental sustainability lead for the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB), said Ontario EcoSchools helps support their schools reach their environmental goals.

"The EcoSchools program integrates beautifully into environmental education mandates from the ministry," Acton said in an interview.

"What I like best about the EcoSchools program is the student leadership component and that threads itself into all the different certification activities and teachers who tell me the same things — it's the students who have the passion and the ideas."

Melissa Benner, communications director for Ontario EcoSchools, said while Catholic school boards have earned full marks, this is the first time their organization has had a public school board receive 100 per cent certification.

"It's a huge accomplishment," Benner said in an email to CBC K-W.

Guelph high school creating arboretum

The school board said there were a few standout projects by schools, including at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute.

The high school started a 10-year plan to turn its grounds into the McCrae Victory Arboretum with more than 120 different species of trees. The arboretum will also include an outdoor classroom, naturalized seating areas and a green roof with a way to gather rainwater.

The school, which is more than 150 years old, is also doing a window audit on its double-slider windows to track spots where energy is being wasted and to ensure windows are being fully closed.

Acton said events like Earth Week or Sweater Day, where the heat was turned down in the schools, also helped individual schools earn their various levels of certification.

To improve for next year and have schools move from, say, bronze to silver, Acton will now review where the schools scored well and where they need to do more work.

She said principals have already come up to her with ideas of how they can reach gold or platinum status next year.

Across the province, 1,900 schools took part in the EcoSchools program.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board reported 36 of its 49 schools earned certification this year as well.