Green Gurus ~ youth & our Earth

 

Kingsclear Consolidated Schools Wins

Mayor's Environmental Award

 

The Composting Club and teacher Matt McGuire’s Grade 4 class from Kingsclear Consolidated School are the latest winners of the City of Fredericton’s Mayor’s Environmental Award.

"Mr. McGuire’s class and the composting club are wonderful examples of young people building a more sustainable community and being great stewards of our environment," said Mayor Brad Woodside during a presentation ceremony during a meeting of City Council. "They prove that it doesn’t matter how young you are, you can still make a difference."

Mayor Woodside also congratulated Mr. McGuire for demonstrating "how our children should be taught."

Last fall, the students started a worm composting project in their classroom before moving it to a larger outdoor composter in the spring. The Composting Club,composed of students from Kindergarten to Grade 5, visited the classrooms in the school, to collect compostables from the students.

They turned composting into an opportunity to learn by measuring the amount of waste produced weekly at the school, being educated about the workings of soil, conserving water, and how to successfully create, maintain and sustain a garden. The garden, located behind the school, utilizes the compost the students generated and is used to teach students about tilling, irrigation rows and how to plant vegetables.

A parent volunteer helped build a fence with generously donated supplies. The next step for the student will be to install an eaves trough on a shed near the garden to collect rainwater in rain barrels for watering the garden.

The students are so dedicated to their project, that over the summer months, while not in school, they have created a schedule for weeding and watering. As the garden is harvested, students will deliver the vegetables to surrounding community homes, to help bring awareness to their project.

"Going Green is hard work but it sure does pay off and builds character and citizenship," said Mr. McGuire. "As a teacher it is very gratifying to see our students embrace this project, raise awareness about our environment and to receive recognition for their efforts."

Earlier this month, Kingsclear Consolidated School was awarded a

$1,995 Green Schools Prize by the World Wildlife Fund for the composting and garden project.

"We are so proud to receive the WWF and the Mayor’s awards," said Principal Karen Godsoe Daigle. "We are fortunate to have a great group of educators and students at our school and these awards are a tribute to Mr. McGuire’s class and the Composting Club."

The City of Fredericton’s Green Matters team will also be donating a composter to the school.

 

Because Climate Change is too important to leave to the adults