May 13th, 2015

Tim Walker Awards Presented by Student Trustees

Four schools received funding to support their environmental projects. The funding was provided as part of the Tim Walker Memorial Awards for Environmental Stewardship, established by the board to honour the life of secondary school teacher Tim Walker, and his commitment to education and environmental initiatives.

An adjudication committee reviews the applications, and makes a decision based on the following criteria:

  1. Staff and student involvement, and environmental stewardship
  2. Impact on student learning / fostering learning and engaging students
  3. Environmental benefits – shading, greening, waste reduction, and recycling

The annual award is $2000, which is equally distributed among four schools. This year’s recipients are: Elgin Street Public School, Highland Public School, Manchester Public School, and Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate Institute.

Project Synopses

Elgin Street PS: School Garden

The staff and students at Elgin Street PS are interested in making their school greener by building a garden by the side entrance of the school that includes only local native growing species. This garden will encourage students to learn to love the environment and especially plants and animals. If students are involved in the care of the garden, it will encourage their appreciation of the environment and researching local plans will help students in their understanding of local ecosystems.

Student Trustees Mark Clubine and Hayley Birss, together with Stephanie Walker, present the 2015 Tim Walker Award to Erin Reader-Norris and Rose Kowalczyk from Elgin PS.

Student Trustees Mark Clubine and Hayley Birss, together with Stephanie Walker, present the 2015 Tim Walker Award to Erin Reader-Norris and Rose Kowalczyk from Elgin PS.

Highland PS: Erosion Control Garden

The hill in the courtyard at Highland PS has experienced a problem with erosion for many years. The installation of a retaining wall has helped, but did not solve the erosion problem. The Eco Team at the school plans to work to minimize the erosion and also to add a diversity of plant material to the courtyard. There is a plan to terrace the hill in the area around the corner by the retaining wall and to add one level of stones on which students could sit and the stones will help the soil to remain in place. The team also has plans to plan a variety of drought tolerant plants, such as grasses, ground cover, and small bushes and shrubs and will incorporate native species in the design feature.

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Student Trustees Mark Clubine and Hayley Birss, together with Stephanie Walker, present the 2015 Tim Walker Award to Randy Martin and Diane Bertrand from Highland PS.

Manchester PS: Outdoor Classroom – Native Species and Butterfly Garden

The goal of the Manchester PS project is to create an outdoor garden which will provide opportunities for students to experience a real life ecosystem and to foster biodiversity within our school yard. The space would house native plants that promote butterfly and pollinator survival. It would teach students about native species plants and animals, and allow them to visit the site with their teachers to observe this first-hand.

Student Trustees Mark Clubine and Hayley Birss, together with Stephanie Walker, present the 2015 Tim Walker Award to Krista Lundy and Paul Schlegel from Manchester PS.

Student Trustees Mark Clubine and Hayley Birss, together with Stephanie Walker, present the 2015 Tim Walker Award to Krista Lundy and Paul Schlegel from Manchester PS.

Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate Institute: Emerald Ash Replacement

This project involves the replacement of existing Emerald Ash trees affected by the Emerald Ash Borer and planted by students in a habitat of restoration initiative ten years ago. Two trees were removed last year and the remaining three need to be removed this year. The goal is to replace the trees with native species which will thrive in the area, provide much needed shade to the picnic area and provide lost wildlife habitat.

Student Trustees Mark Clubine and Hayley Birss, together with Stephanie Walker, present the 2015 Tim Walker Award to Patrick Rittinger and Cathy Volmer-Ashley from KCI.

Student Trustees Mark Clubine and Hayley Birss, together with Stephanie Walker, present the 2015 Tim Walker Award to Patrick Rittinger and Cathy Volmer-Ashley from KCI.

 

 

Contact information:
Lynsey Meikle – Communications Officer – lynsey_meikle@wrdsb.on.ca

About the WRDSB
The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) has approximately 40,000 elementary students and 20,000 secondary students in 116 school locations in the Region of Waterloo. From Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12, our schools provide instruction designed to develop in our students the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to provide a solid foundation for living and learning. Our students regularly achieve a wide variety of honours in academics, fine arts and athletics. Our graduates have great success as they pursue further education and rewarding careers.