Vol. 3, No. 3 Contents
Headline Back Issues
Summer 99
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Canada's "Blue" Schools teach kids to take care of the ocean
Launched in 1997 as part of Canada's activities for the United Nations' International Year of the Ocean, the program has become an ongoing effort to educate youth about marine and coastal environments, and to encourage them to protect those resources. It does this by providing materials teachers can use to develop activities for their classes, as well as some seed money for project expenses. Collaborators in the program include the Canadian Museum of Nature, Scouts Canada, the Canadian Association of Principals, the North American Wetlands Conservation Council-Canada, and federal agencies including the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada (EC). Exploring their turf and surf
Principal Hazel Dill said the school, with about 180 students in grades K through six, was already working on some environmental projects when she received information about the Blue School program in the mail three years ago. "When this came across my desk, I thought it fit quite nicely with our environmental initiatives." Most of the children attending Hines live on the coast, said Dill. "Through this [program], we're hoping they'll develop an appreciation for what they have in their own back yards, and a desire to take care of it." Parents have also shared in developing Hines' Blue School activities, she said. While schools can participate in the Blue School program a year at a time, Dill said her school has taken it on as a five-year effort. Teachers of all grades bring their classes to one of five different local beaches each year, so that by the time a student finishes the sixth grade, he or she will have visited and studied all of them. Seaside assignmentsIn June, at the Hines School's annual Oceans Day outing, students worked on several projects at Summerville Beach, the closest beach to the school. Second-graders cleaned up a brook, while grades three and five built a stone-lined fire pit to provide an alternative to open beach fires. Grade four students built nesting boxes for marsh birds, while grades five and six developed informational signs describing the various species and habitat found at the beach. On other beach days, students have worked in mixed grade groups, gathering information on plant and animal life that they bring back to class to use in developing presentations, displays, and reference materials to share with the rest of the school. The students have also held Earth Day beach cleanups in April, recording the types and amounts of rubbish they collect, and turning those tallies over to Clean Nova Scotia, organizer of an annual Maritimes Beachsweep. The school's practice of giving each grade level a part in these projects shows how, according to Topping, children of all ages can become involved in the study and stewardship of oceans and coastal systems. During the last three years, students and teachers at Hines have been building their own awareness of local coastal environments, but in the future, said Dill, "I think we'll look at more community involvement." The students already have their eye on a collaborative project to clean up a pond on the site of a former plaster works, she said. The pond, which feeds a brook, has been used as a dump site. The school is also considering recruiting community members to help create some nature trails. "This is a personal love of mine as an administrator --- to get involved and to get the kids involved," said Dill. "I really feel proud about what our kids are doing and how they feel about it, and my staff as well." Just add waterEach year CWF sends a Blue School education kit to all Canadian schools. Along with colorful posters and other ready-to-use materials, it includes a detailed booklet describing classroom and outdoor activities on specific environmental topics, such as migratory species, wetland revitalization, and pollution control. The program encourages students to set an example of environmental stewardship for their community by undertaking local habitat improvement projects. Extending beyond math and the sciences to incorporate language arts, drama, visual art, and other subjects, the activities also help students develop communication, cooperation, interpretation, and research skills, according to Luba Mycio-Mommers, CWF Head of Education and Information. The program is designed for kindergarten and elementary students, but can be adapted for other grade levels, even the university level. Because it is not a formal curriculum, teachers can customize their activities for their class. "What we look for in the Blue School is that students are engaging community expertise that helps them become intimately familiar with the issues," noted Mycio-Mommers. CWF offers up to $500 per school or $200 per class to help pay for supplies and equipment. Schools can apply any time, and can submit applications for multiple projects, and even for projects already under way, though the funding cap remains the same, Mycio-Mommers said. Participating schools receive a plaque, and for each project a school completes, it receives a medallion to add to the plaque. Accordingto Topping, ocean-related projects may hit closest to home in coastal communities, but schools all over Canada are participating in the Blue School program. "Even if you're in the middle of the prairies, you have a role to play in the marine environment. If you help to restore a wetland that's part of a river that runs into the basin, you're doing your part. If you're working on air emissions, you're doing your part." About 200 Canadian schools --- 50 of them in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick --- participated in the Blue School program last school year, said Mycio-Mommers. As the program catches on throughout Canada, organizers hope to export it to the US as well. |
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Summerville, Nova Scotia --- Some Canadian kids are heading to the shore on school days, but not to play hooky and build sand castles. With the beach as a classroom, they are getting a first-hand look at the intricate workings of coastal and marine environments through the Canadian Wildlife Federation's (CWF) Blue School program.
This fall, the Dr. Arthur Hines Elementary School in Hants County, Nova Scotia, in the Bay of Fundy, is beginning its third year as a Blue School. According to Paul Topping, Program Officer with EC's Marine Environment Division, the Hines School was the first school to participate in the program.