Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education and certification program for grades K-12 that helps school communities develop both ecological literacy and environmental practices to become environmentally responsible citizens and reduce the environmental footprint of schools. They work towards the vision that all students and staff in Ontario schools will be engaged in environmental education and practices, developing the knowledge, skills, perspectives, and actions needed to be environmentally responsible citizens. As a Catholic school community, we are called to live out our Christian responsibility for the environment by cultivating and caring for the goodness of all God’s creation.
Ontario EcoSchools has been supporting environmental literacy in schools for over 10 years. They are the only voluntary certification program in Ontario that recognizes and celebrates schools for their environmental learning and action.
The Ontario EcoSchools program has six sections. Each section acts as a road map to identify areas where students can take action. EcoTeams can pick and choose what they would like to implement throughout the school year, connecting environmental learning with daily practices. All six sections promote student engagement, take place during the school year, and are within the realm of student influence.
- Teamwork and Leadership
- Energy Conservation
- Waste Minimization
- School Ground Greening
- Environmental Stewardship
- Curriculum
EcoSchools recognizes the achievements of the participating schools through a certification process that awards a Gold, Silver, or Bronze level of achievement. Schools that have participated for more than 5 years at the Gold level may apply for the Platinum certification.
Congratulations to the following schools for achieving certification!
- Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School, Peterborough – Silver 2011, Silver 2011, Gold 2012, Gold 2013, Gold 2014, Platinum 2015, Gold 2016, Platinum 2017, Platinum 2018
- Holy Family Catholic Elementary School, Bowmanville – Silver 2010, Gold 2018
- Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School, Courtice – Gold 2011, Gold 2012, Gold 2013, Gold 2014, Silver 2015, Gold 2016, Gold 2017, Platinum 2018
- Monsignor O’Donoghue Catholic Elementary School, Peterborough – Gold 2010, Gold 2011, Gold 2012, Gold 2013, Gold 2014
- Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School, Courtice – Bronze 2014, Bronze 2018
- St. Alphonsus Catholic Elementary School, Peterborough – Gold 2012, Gold 2013, Gold 2014, Gold 2015, Gold 2016, Gold 2017
- St. Anthony Catholic Elementary School, Port Hope – Silver 2014, Silver 2015
- St. Dominic Catholic Elementary School, Lindsay – Silver 2010, Silver 2011, Gold 2012, Silver 2013, Gold 2014, Gold 2015, Silver 2016, Gold 2017
- St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School – Gold 2012, Gold 2012. Gold 2013, Gold 2014, Gold 2015, Gold 2016, Platinum 2017, Platinum 2018
- St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School, Douro – Bronze 2010, Bronze 2011, Silver 2012, Silver 2013, Silver 2014, Silver 2015, Gold 2016, Gold 2017, Gold 2018
- St. Luke Catholic Elementary School, Downeyville – Silver 2012, Silver 2013
- St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, Campbellford – Silver 2010, Gold 2011, Bronze 2012,
- St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, Lindsay – Gold 2010, Gold 2011, Gold 2012, Gold 2013, Gold 2014
- St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School, Peterborough – Gold 2013, Gold 2014, Gold 2015, Gold 2016, Gold 2017, Gold 2018
- St. Paul Catholic Elementary School, Norwood – Gold 2012, Silver 2013, Silver 2015, Gold 2016, Gold 2017, Gold 2018
- St. Paul Catholic Elementary School, Lakefield – Gold 2010, Gold 2011, Gold 2012, Gold 2013, Gold 2014, Gold 2015, Gold 2016, Gold 2017, Silver 2018
- St. Paul Catholic Elementary School, Peterborough – Silver 2012
- St. Stephen Catholic Secondary School, Bowmanville – Gold 2010, Gold 2011, Gold 2012, Silver 2013, Gold 2014, Silver 2015, Silver 2016, Silver 2017, Gold 2018
- St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School, Lindsay – Silver 2010, Gold 2011, Gold 2012, Bronze 2013
- Notre Dame Catholic Elementary School, Cobourg – Silver 2016, Silver 2017
- St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School, Peterborough – Silver 2016, Silver 2017
- St. Mary Catholic Secondary School, Cobourg – Bronze 2018
- St. Peter Catholic Secondary School, Peterborough – Silver 2018
- St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School, Lindsay – Silver 2010, Gold 2011, Gold 2012, Bronze 2013
View the EcoSchools Canada website