Earth Week

Earth_Week_LogoWelcome 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:

  1. Energy Consumption
  2. Procurement
  3. Waste management
  4. Water management 
  5. Emissions
  6. Land use
  7. Food systems
  8. 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

Environment Week Sets Stage for Sustainable Practice

Blg_EarthWeek_TomatoPlant_10May2012LCC celebrated “Environment Week” in late April. Thanks to all the hard work and dedication by our green team members, the week was very successful. We had a fun cook off, planted tomatoes, had a green café with cupcakes and pastries, and even a trash art display. Thank you to all that participated in the activities and to those who wore green on Wednesday. We hope you all had a great earth week, and that the enthusiasm you all showed will continue throughout the rest of the year.

As mentioned during the assembly, we have created a recycling bin for electronics. There are four bins, such as phones, batteries, ink cartridges etc. If everyone would bring one thing that could fit into one of these categories, it would really make a difference. The recycling company that collects these has agreed to donate the money to MIRA, which works to help disabled individuals lead their lives independently as functioning members of society. They do this by providing dogs bred and trained to respond to their adaptation and rehabilitation needs. They need as much money as possible, considering they provide these services free of charge. Please bring in what you can, and again thank you for such a successful week! —Kelsey Wiseman ’13

Enviro-Man #1: Composting

Even though we have compost bins all around the school, they are not very popular. Julia and I decided to make a video explaining what to compost and why. We used, as the main character, an eco-based super hero named Enviro-Man and an irresponsible teenager who has never composted.

Dans la vidéo, Enviro-man explique à Sally que le compostage aide la Terre d’une excellente façon et que c’est tout aussi facile que de mettre les choses à la poubelle. Ils font un course l’un contre l’autre pour voir qui peut composter la plupart des aliments et des articles compostables en premier.–Joseph Wiltzer ’15 and Julia Israel ’15

Enviro_Man.cfm

Toward a Sustainable World

LCC_GoingGreenIt’s Environment/Earth Week at LCC. Although we have taken a lot of steps in recent years to be a more sustainable school, we can always do more. We have diminished our impact on our environment by changing a lot of our buildings’ systems and infrastructure: we installed high efficiency furnaces and new generation fluorescent lighting, upgraded ventilation systems, limited water waste, planted trees and added an urban tree garden. In addition, student learning now has a more pronounced focus on sustainability.

Last fall our Board of Governors published a Sustainability Commitment. Our student Green Team promotes sustainable practices at school and in our homes, and faculty and staff sit on a sustainability committee. This is all in an effort to raise awareness and find ways to make LCC a greener school.
As a large and complex organization, LCC seems to be on solid footing when it comes to diminishing its impact on our precious environment. Perhaps the biggest challenge to changing wasteful and harmful habits is not institutional, but personal. David Suzuki publishes a Top Ten list of ways to make a positive impact on our shared environment. However, expecting people to make ten changes is probably too many. So how about just three? Anyone can do these:

1. Walk, bike or take public transit more often.
2. Manage your trash better and recycle more efficiently.
3. Eat more locally grown foods.

If enough people made just these three changes, our environment would surely benefit.

As they say, ”Rome wasn’t built in a day” and “climbing any mountain begins with a single step.” So however minor, decide what you can really handle. Commit to making some positive changes and before you know it, you will likely want to do more. –Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Earth Week: Biodiversity – “We are the World” (April 19-23)

EarthWeek2010It was an interesting experience to brainstorm with the Green Team on biodiversity –this year’s theme for Earth Week. Most of the websites that we researched revealed how important biodiversity is for humans since the many living beings on our earth allow us to obtain food, shelter, medicine, leisure, etc.

What’s wrong with this picture? As humans we are one among millions of species that exist on Earth. We are not the most significant part, yet we have a very egocentric idea of our place on our planet. True we depend on other species for our survival, so shouldn’t other species depend on us for their survival? We need to start looking beyond our own concerns and look at the world around us as full of energy, beauty and strength; characteristics that we should be incorporating in our own beings.

Our chosen theme of “We are the World” stresses how we can make a difference in the world not only in terms of caring for fauna and flora, but also with a concern for social justice.

We have a number of fundraisers set for Earth week in hopes not only to raise money for important causes, but also to raise awareness.

EarthWeek2010_ChildWorldWe will hold a raffle for a metal wall decor, which was made by an artist from Haiti entitled “children of the world.” Tickets will be available at the Front Office and proceeds will go toward relief efforts for Haiti.

EarthWeek2010_GreenGenTshirtsWe will sell “Green Generation” T-shirts with the slogan: “Reuse the Past, Recycle the Present, Save the Future,” written on the back. The money raised will be given to our local SPCA.

EarthWeek2010_TapWaterAidWe will have a “Fill the Water Jug with Coins” campaign to raise money to buy a gift from Water-Aid, such as a water pump, that will help a third world community obtain access to safe water.

We hope that you will be part of our celebration!

–Vilma Scattolin (Faculty Advisor) & the LCC Student Green Team