A Sarnia environmental group has reached around 5,000 students and counting through its online and in-person programming.
Ecodemy has a mission to educate, inspire and empower the world on a journey toward sustainability.
Green Education Ambassador Kaely Kraeft said they want to promote environmental stewardship by providing practical, hands-on environmental learning to students.
"We try to use interactive programming with lots of activities focusing on topics of microplastics," said Kraeft. "So we look at kind of the impact that they have on local habitats and wildlife."
The group recently received a $10,000 grant from the Sarnia Community Foundation for its Earth Day Everyday program. The funding allowed them to provide programming to around 2,000 Grade 4 to 8 students at 15 schools across the Lambton Kent District School Board (LKDSB).
Kraeft said Ecodemy learned so much from the students about what they know about environmental stewardship.
"Whether that was creating an e-waste drop-off bin or textile clothing bin to separate waste and become aware of it," she said. "I had students saying how they want to make eco clubs at the school or put up posters to help teach students and staff on how to recycle properly."
Kraeft said they brought in samples of Lake Huron beach sand and they looked for signs of microplastics with that.
"We also talked a little bit about recycling, because sometimes it can be hard to determine what can be recycled and what can't. So we got students to participate in an interactive sorting relay activity," she said. "And we talked about zero waste: the gigantic size of the problem, the five Rs, we discussed food waste, and then they also participated in an interactive waste breakdown activity where they see how long it takes for some common waste materials to break down in landfills."
The recent programming got underway in February and wrapped in April. Kraeft said to expand, they hope that community partners can see the value and become more aware of the in-person events.
"And we hope to be able to make things more available on our digital platform to be able to hopefully reach people across Ontario, Canada and maybe the world."
Through its membership in Green Economy London, Ecodemy has committed to measuring, publicly reporting, and setting a reduction target on GHGs, and increasing its environmental stewardship.
