CARING FOR THE EARTH
Schools in Wellington Catholic District School Board certify as Ontario EcoSchools

This year, four schools in Wellington Catholic District School Board certified with the Ontario EcoSchools program, joining a growing movement of 1,900 schools across the province.

Ontario EcoSchools works with 58 school boards to nurture student leadership and foster environmental learning and action in school communities. Certification is based on a provincial standard of excellence and reaches 1,000,000 students across Ontario.

Wellington Catholic District School Board is proud to be part of this vibrant network.

"Pope Francis' encyclical, 'On Care for Our Common Home' challenges each one of us to embrace a lifestyle that demonstrates a love for all creation", noted Director of Education, Tamara Nugent. "Staff in our schools are working together with students to deepen our efforts in understanding and care for our environment and our role as stewards of creation. The diverse activities of our schools include everything from eco-elves recycling programs to growing pollinator gardens.All of these enhance the awareness of our interconnectedness."

"Ontario EcoSchools certification provides a framework for environmental learning and action, and school communities bring it to life. The program allows schools and school boards to benchmark their progress and celebrate achievements year-over-year. We are so proud of the 1,900 schools and 58 school boards that participated in the program in 2017-18. This is a record number over our 13-year history."~ Lindsay Bunce, Executive Director, Ontario EcoSchools.

Quick Facts

• For the 2017-18 school year, St. Michael achieved Bronze level, St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Guelph achieved Silver level, and St. James High School achieved Gold level. 
• Wellington Catholic District School Board is committed to increase the number of certified eco-schools and to serve the environmental needs of our community and the larger world.  
• Ontario EcoSchools is an award-winning environmental education and certification program for grades K-12 that nurtures environmental leaders, reduces the ecological impact of schools, and builds environmentally responsible school communities. All publicly funded schools can access the EcoSchools program free of charge.
• Visit www.ontarioecoschools.org/media/ for more information and for a full list of certified schools across the province.