Environmental Education Program
Rainbow Schools Go Green
Take our Interactive Home Audit
In the spring of 2006, the Rainbow District School Board launched an Interactive Home Audit designed to educate residents about the amount of energy being consumed in their homes and ways they can achieve savings. The audit, which can be completed online is the next step in the Board’s environmental education campaign.
“We are expanding our environmental education and sustainability efforts from the classroom to the community through the wonders of technology,” said Rainbow District School Board Chair Dena Morrison. “We are monitoring our energy use in Rainbow Schools and implementing efficiency measures in order to achieve savings. With the launch of the Interactive Home Audit, we are inviting homeowners to model what we are doing in our schools.”
The Rainbow District School Board’s environmental website features an odometer that simulates energy use in Rainbow Schools - including water, electricity, gas and oil – by consumption and costs. “Through the Interactive Home Audit, residents will be able to track how much they are spending on energy and water on a month-by-month basis,” said Chair Morrison. “They will also be able to calculate how much money they could save by implementing efficiency measures in their homes. Residents will be able to see, first-hand, how personal actions have a significant impact on the environment.” In addition to the Home Audit, the Rainbow District School Board’s environmental website features teacher resources, student resources, educational links, curriculum based lessons for elementary and secondary schools and success stories.
From the classroom to the community
"It's very encouraging to see that the Rainbow Board is providing environmental education to our youth to show them that regardless of their age, they too can contribute to a more sustainable environment,” said Greater Sudbury Mayor David Courtemanche. "By introducing the Interactive Home Audit, the Board is going that extra distance to provide ideas to home owners about the various ways that they can make their home more environmentally friendly and cost efficient."
The Rainbow District School Board’s 50 elementary and secondary schools have undertaken a number of environmental initiatives with tremendous success over the past five years. “We are proud to work in collaboration with the Dearness Environmental Society and Earthcare Sudbury to build sustainable schools and school communities for now and, more importantly, for the future,” said the Rainbow District School Board’s Chief Financial Officer, Diane Cayen-Arnold. “Administrators, custodians, teachers and students are learning together how to adopt a conservation ethic in their schools and take leadership in transferring this learning to their homes and communities. We have only just begun to realize the benefits of these efforts.”
Student-run activities such as turning off lights and computers, closing taps and making garbageless lunches are saving energy, water and reducing waste. “Rainbow District School Board achieved approximately $120,000 in savings in utilities in the 2004-2005 school year,” said Cayen-Arnold. “Savings achieved are being reinvested in our schools.” She added: “Adopting an environmental ethic in Rainbow Schools makes sense from education, environmental and economic perspectives.”
Rainbow Schools lead the way
According to Eric Foster, Managing Director of the Dearness Environmental Society, natural resources and a clean and healthy environment are fundamental components of what Canadian communities are all about. “Over the past several years, the Rainbow District School Board has taken steps to teach Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin area children how to safeguard this natural capital, and, in the process, has become a proactive and innovative model of resource conservation for other boards to follow,” said Foster. “There is no question that the Rainbow Board is an acknowledged leader, not only in the area of conservation education, but also as a board that has made significant strides in energy, water and waste reduction".
Educators from Rainbow Schools have developed sustainability plans for their respective schools drawing on the ideas presented at a workshop in early 2006. The workshop was spearheaded by Chuck Hopkins, a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Chair at York University. Hopkins, a graduate of Espanola High School, is currently co-ordinating an international network of 36 education institutions from 34 countries to refocus teacher education to address sustainability.
“Ongoing education will continue to be a primary focus of our efforts as we look to change behaviour and make good environmental practices a habit in Rainbow Schools and throughout the communities that we serve,” said Director of Education Jean Hanson. The action plans are all encompassing. Some schools are transforming school grounds in order to promote green spaces and take advantage of sunlight and shade. Others are looking to alter the set up of their classrooms to capitalize on available light. Others are opting to undertake certain tasks at non-peak times when energy use is less costly. “Everyone is becoming that much more vigilant about turning off lights and computers and adopting good environmental practices on a day-to-day basis,” said Hanson.
As part of the Interactive Home Audit launch, Grade 5 students from R.L. Beattie Public School showcased their recycled artwork and students from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School highlighted their Green Club accomplishments for the year. "Rainbow Schools Go Green" bracelets were also distributed as a reminder of the importance each person plays in building sustainable communities.
