Niagara Catholic District School Board ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Adopted: May 24, 2011 Revised:	Policy No. 400.6

STATEMENT OF POLICY

The Niagara Catholic District School Board recognizes the sacredness and connectedness of all God's creation and the responsibility to promote a reverence for the environment and to encourage sustainability through the effective stewardship of all resources.

The Board believes that environmental education and the effective stewardship of God’s gifts is a shared responsibility of students, staff and community members, and supports the message of Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the World Day of Peace, January 1, 1990:

“The ecological crisis is a moral crisis,” and “the responsibility of everyone.” “Care for the environment is not an option. In the Christian perspective, it forms an integral part of our personal life and of life in society. Not to care for the environment is to ignore the Creator’s plan for all creation and results in an alienation of the human person.”

The Board is committed to preparing students to meet the social and environmental challenges of the future, through the following goals:

Teaching and Learning
By the end of Grade 12, students will acquire knowledge, skills and perspectives that foster understanding of their fundamental connections to each other, to the world around them, and to all living things.

Student Engagement and Community Connections
Increase student engagement by fostering active participation in environmental projects and building links between schools and communities.

Environmental Leadership
Increase the capacity of system leaders to implement evidence-based environmental education programming, practices, and operations.

The Director of Education will issue administrative guidelines in support of this policy.

References:

• Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations, Institute for Catholic Education
• Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future: Environmental Education in Ontario Schools, Report of the Working Group on Environmental Education, Ministry of Education, 2007.
• Acting Today, Shaping Tomorrow: A Policy Framework for Environmental Education in Ontario Schools, Ministry of Education, 2009.
• Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990 and its regulations
• Ready Set Green! Tips, Techniques, and Resources from Ontario Educators, Ministry of Education, 2007.
• Environmental Education: Scope and Sequence of Expectations, The Ontario Curriculum, 2009 Edition, Ministry of Education.
• The Environment, Sector Specific Guide, Specialist High Skills Major, Ministry of Educations
• Green Clean Program Resource Guide, Ontario Ministry of Education, March 2010.
• Green Schools Resource Guide: A Practical Resource for Planning and Building Green Schools in Ontario, Ministry of Education, 2010.
• Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all Creation, Pope John Paul II, World Day of Peace Message, January 1, 1990.
• You love all that exists…all things are yours, God, lover of life, A pastoral letter on the Christian Ecological Imperative from the Social Affairs Commission, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, October 4, 2003, Feast of St. Francis of Assissi (Patron Saint for Ecology)

Policies

Administrative Guidelines