Haldane Elementary is one of the greenest schools in Canada, having completed over 6000 Seeds Foundation environmental activities under the leadership of a very dedicated teacher (who happens to share her birthday with Earth Day) Brenda Malnechuck. Haldane is a place where one could strike up a conversation about the depleting Sockeye Salmon stock in the Adam's River, or talk about why more people should walk and ride bikes, and probably learn a thing or two from the eight year olds.
Earth Day begins every year at Haldane Elementary with an assembly. This year's theme was "Rethink First" - I wonder if it was any coincidence that I was invited to speak? Students entering the gymnasium were greeted by the Recycle Queens of the Environmental Mind Grind hosting a game of Green Jeopardy that kept the masses entertained while waiting for classes to arrive and be seated.
Once the school was assembled, everyone stood, faced the flag, and sang "O Canada". I always get goose bumps around the verse "God keep our land glorious and free", and today was no exception. It felt so good to be celebrating this special day with these stewards of the planet.
The students listened patiently as teachers, representatives from environmental associations (Ministry of Forests, TNRD, Ministry of Environment), the town Reverend, the Mayor, and others gave praise and congratulations for their actions to help save the planet. And as Mrs. Ruddrick's class sang catchy tunes about saving the environment, one couldn't help but smile on the inside.
When it was my turn to speak, I went over the basic rules of our challenge and listed the contents of our family's garbage over the past three weeks. Although I had come to the event thinking that I would teach a few things about waste reduction, it didn't surprise me to find out that in fact I was going to be the student at Haldane.
As we broke out into smaller groups after the assembly, one boy suggested we fix the plastic tongs that (my sister Jen) broke. Another suggested we reuse the six dishes I clumsily broke during a late-night clean out of the dinning hutch as ornaments in the garden. Hmmm, not a bad ideas, why didn't I think of those?
Students spent the remainder of the day planting trees, gardening, picking up litter, making homemade paper, learning about how to reduce conflicts between bears and people, talking about waste reduction and doing fun activities like recycle relays and waste audits. A group of First Nations mothers hosted a used toy sale to raise funds for Japan relief (I broke one of our rules and bought a set of blocks for Eli, but I feel justified as it was more like a charitable donation than a purchase of material goods - plus the blocks were second hand).
Spending the day with the students of Haldane has put a little light in my heart, the Earth is going to be okay once today's youth are in charge. These children have no choice but to make the Earth a better place. I'm thankful for people like Brenda Malnechuck who ensure that future generations have the tools to make the right choices. I just hope that when Brenda retires in the next few years that another teacher will step up and carry on the legacy of Haldane Elementary School.
How do you feel about the fate of our planet? Do you have a story about a school quietly making a difference in your community? What did you do to celebrate Earth Day?
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