Dawn-Euphemia Public School is leading the province in an environmental effort.
The school participated in the 2023 Battery Blitz in the fall through Earth Rangers, an organization that empowers kids to be environmental leaders.
The blitz encourages families across Canada to collect and recycle dead batteries, keeping them out of landfills and making the materials available for use in new products.
According to Lambton Kent District School Board Public Relations Officer Caress Lee, this started when a staff member reached out to Earth Rangers about scheduling an assembly for students about environmental efforts.
Currently, the organization does not have representation in the area, which is the reason why an assembly could not be held.
She said instead of the assembly, the organization offered for the school to take part in the competition.
During the blitz, students collected and sent in 1,855 kilograms in batteries, or 4,089 pounds.
Lee said because of how much was raised they got the top prize of $5,000.
"Just to give you an idea on how wild that is, the second place was 950 kilograms so, they far exceeded that," said Lee.
The school now holds the provincial record for batteries collected during a single contest.
"That's a great big accomplishment for such a small but mighty school," she said.
According to Lee, the school will be putting the prize money toward a new playground.
"They're currently fundraising to install outdoor equipment at their school. They need $150,000 so, it's a small piece of that but a big chunk when you think about all of the work put into it," she said.
Lee added that the school will be participating in the fall 2024 blitz.
She believes a competition like this shows how a small group of people can do great things.
"Dawn-Euphemia is one of our smaller schools in the district, but they're constantly, whether it's something large like this winning $5,000 towards their school or if it's just taking part in an initiative that make their students feel welcome and appreciated, they have a great big heart for such a small student body," Lee said.