UPPER CANADA DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
Montague PS Becomes First in Ontario to Earn Blue Community School Certification

The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) is proud to announce that Montague Public School has become the first school in Ontario to be certified as a Blue Community School by the national environmental advocacy organization, The Council of Canadians.

A Blue Community School commits to protecting water and advocating for water justice. This includes educating students about the global and local water crisis, recognizing access to clean water and sanitation as a human right, reducing reliance on plastics, and taking meaningful action to protect water and watersheds.

Montague PS earned this certification during the 2024-25 school year by embedding water education into student learning, teaching about the need to protect water as a vital and irreplaceable resource, recognizing the human right to water, and by phasing out single-use, plastic water bottles at school. Students also learned about the long-standing issues surrounding access to clean drinking water in Indigenous communities, and how The Council of Canadians march annually on Indigenous Peoples Day at Parliament Hill to bring this issue to light. Every student in the school coloured in printouts of water droplets and wrote personal messages of hope, support, and advocacy, which were sent to The Council of Canadians for use in the march.

In June, Montague PS welcomed Dr. Maude Barlow to celebrate the school's certification. Dr. Barlow who played a pivotal role in the United Nations' recognition of clean water as a human right joined environmental student leaders for a round-table lunch and inspired the entire school community during a special assembly.

For the 2025-26 school year, Montague PS's Grade 1/2 students have taken the lead on the initiative. They are reaching out across the UCDSB to encourage other schools to become Blue Community Schools or participate by completing and sending in their own water droplets for the Council's 2026 March on Parliament Hill. Students are creating a video to share what they've learned and to encourage board-wide participation. The video will be released near the end of February, with the goal of collecting as many water droplets as possible.

"I am so inspired by the children's passion regarding helping Indigenous Communities access clean water," said Grade 1/2 Teacher and initiative driver Cindy Gilmore. "They truly light up as we engage in the investigation and when they speak about their emotions around this issue it becomes evident that they truly care. This caring and feeling of having an impact drives their learning."

Through their work, students are strengthening their public speaking, artistic, and writing skills learning to use their voices for advocacy that they can see at a national level.

"Do you know how many indigenous communities still don't have clean water?" asked Grade 1/2 student Brody Prosser. "29! It should be zero."

"It feels really good to be the first in Ontario to be a blue school," added fellow student Nola Brown. "Because we're helping protect water."

The UCDSB congratulates Montague PS on this historic achievement and applauds the students and educators for their leadership in water protection and environmental advocacy.