Welcome to Earth Week at LCC!
Nine years ago LCC began a major overhaul of key elements of school operations aimed at minimizing our impact on the local environment. Significant funds were spent on new energy efficient furnaces, renewal of old ventilation systems, and the installation of energy efficient lighting. We know that those system changes have saved the school well over $1million in energy costs.
For the past several years one of our school’s strategic priorities has been a greater concentration on enhanced environmental practices. Many projects have been initiated. We now work with an outside environmental consulting company and concentrate on eight separate categories for environmental enhancement. Most are measurable and provide concrete evidence and benchmarks of how we are doing from year to year. The 8 areas are the following:
- Energy Consumption
- Procurement
- Waste management
- Water management
- Emissions
- Land use
- Food systems
- Community Outreach & Education
In each of these categories we can measure from year to year how well we are doing. For example, last year we saved 35-thousand litres of water per- student because of system enhancements, and over the year we also saved approximately 36-hundred kilowatts of power per student. We will have data for each of the categories again at the end of this school year for comparative purposes.
In 2010 our Board formally adopted a “Sustainability Commitment” to guide us institutionally and our students have become active as members of our Green Team and Junior School Recycling Squad. It is impressive to witness students teaching students on this topic that is so vital for our future in Canada and across the community of nations.
My thanks to students who are committed volunteers, especially Green Team members for their leadership, initiative and courage in the name of sustainability. Whether it’s an anti-idling campaign, “no-waste lunches”, our students are proactive and are making a difference.
We only have one planet. However large or small, let’s all find ways to protect our natural world. We need to share the mindset that we do so for our children’s children’s children and beyond. – Chris Shannon, Headmaster