In one of his first public duties as Ontario's new energy minister, Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault visited two schools in Hanmer today.
The newly christened Energy minister was on hand for the announcement the schools had earned Ontario EcoSchools certifications.
“Having our future leaders talking about the importance of conservation is so key,” Thibeault said. “If we continue to find ways to conserve, it actually saves us as adults the pain, because we don't have to worry about building new generation facilities. We only have to worry about keeping the existing systems functioning.”
Thibeault described his first week on the job as energy minister like “drinking water from a fire hose,” but added he's honoured to have been entrusted with such a challenging portfolio.
“I'm really looking forward to taking on this portfolio and bringing a northern flare to it,” he said.
Initiatives such as recycling and composting waste, turning off lights in unoccupied rooms and building a community garden netted the awards for École secondaire Hanmer and École publique Foyer-Jeunesse, two French public schools located in the same building.
Both received a silver certification from the Ontario EcoSchools program.
Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education and certification program for kindergarten to Grade 12 that helps school communities develop both ecological literacy and environmental practices to become environmentally responsible citizens and reduce the environmental footprint of schools.
The work at École secondaire Hanmer and École publique Foyer-Jeunesse has been led by a student group called Oui Care at the high school, and Mini Oui Care at the elementary school.
Besides environmental initiatives, the two clubs also do service work in the community.
Jean Bigras, the principal of École secondaire Hanmer, said he was excited to hear about the Ontario EcoSchools certification.
He attributes the schools' success to the initiative's lead teachers, Luce Lepage and Lynne Dubeau, as well as to other staff, and, of course, the hard work of students.
“It's excellent,” he said. “All the hard work and effort that everybody's been putting into things, it was a true validation of what we're doing. It's really nice to be recognized.”
Lindsay Bunce, program director with Ontario EcoSchools, said she was especially impressed with how older students are mentoring younger students in environmental initiatives at the two Hanmer schools.
She said it's important to encourage environmentalism in youth because they are the future.
“I'm always really humbled and inspired when I speak with students,” she said. “They've got really amazing creative ideas and creative solutions for how we are going to mitigate climate change and take care of our natural world.
“It's always very inspirational to see schools taking this on at a community level, and really having an impact, and being change-makers within the community. I think what the (Ontario EcoSchools) program can do is help focus energy within this framework.”
