Earth Day, April 22, 2022
Billions of people in over 190 countries, including an estimated 6 million Canadians, participate in Earth Day events every April 22. At the OCSB, our students and staff celebrate Earth Day and Earth Month.
Celebrating Nature
Throughout April, students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 will participate in various activities celebrating God’s creation and promoting environmental conservation and sustainability.
Integrating Environmental Learning
Our #ocsbEarth team works with educators to integrate environmental-themed events throughout the curriculum. The environment can provide an inspirational starting point for creativity in Math, English, Science and the Arts.
Earth Month Themes
Each week we will feature activities focusing on a different environmental theme: Wildlife; Plants, Insects, and Pollinators; the Four Elements of Nature; and Clean Water.
ocsbEARTH Month at a Glance
Throughout the action-packed month, students will explore and engage in hands-on activities to encourage students to become environmentally responsible citizens and stewards of God’s Creation.
| Activities and events | Grade | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Animals As Our Relations: Indigenous Perspectives on Environmental Kinship – Carolynne Crawley | Gr. 4-8 | April 5 |
| Indigenous Perspectives on Reciprocal Relations with the Earth – Carolynne Crawley | Gr. 9-12 | April 5 |
| Unplugged Coding – a math and science coding lesson with an environmental theme | K-2 | April 8 |
| BBC micro:bit Coding – do your :bit – a math and science coding lesson with an environmental theme | 3-6 | April 8 |
| Environmental Activity Sessions – in partnership with TVO Digital Learning. Interactive activity sessions focus on Plant/Ecosystem/Habitats catered to the appropriate grade levels. | Gr. K-2Gr. 3-5Gr. 6-8 | April 11 |
| Bees and Pollinating Insects – a talk with artist and photographer David Wysotski | Gr. 5-9 | April 12 |
| Nature by Runtz!! – Naturalist Mike Runtz speaks about insects, plants, and pollinators. | Gr. 4-8 | April 13 |
| Environmental Relationships, Climate Change, and Land-Based Protocols – Kyrstin Dumont | Gr. 8-12 | April 20 |
| Junior and Senior Environmental Career Panels sponsored by the Ottawa Network for Education. | Gr. 5-6Gr. 7-12 | April 21April 22 |
| Through the Eyes of Bears – Indigenous storytelling with Simon Brascoupe | Gr. K-6Gr. 7-12 | April 22 |
| Junkyard Symphony – an entertaining and musical platform to educate students on how to preserve and protect our environment using recycled materials as instruments | Gr. K-8 | Apri 25 |
| Our Farm in the City – book talk with Ottawa author Kalli Dakos | Gr. K-4 | April 27 |
| Minecraft EDU: Building a Pollinator Garden | Gr. 3-6 | April 28 |
| Minecraft EDU Earth Month Lesson | Gr. 7-8 | April 28 |
Join Us on Social Media
Start the Earth Month conversation at home. Join us on social media as we celebrate #ocsbEarth Month in our schools. Our educators will be sharing what’s happening in their classrooms using our #ocsbEarth hashtag, or you can follow our environmental tweets @ocsbEco.
Encourage a Love for the Environment at Home
There are many simple things families can do to encourage a love for the Environment:
- Go for nature walks.
- Start a leaf collection in the fall and try to identify many species of trees.
- Plant a window sill garden at home.
- Go bird watching.
- Identify and research insects you see outdoors.
- Improve your family composting/recycling routines. Challenge yourself to produce only one ice cream container of garbage each week.
- Reduce the use of single-use plastics.
- Clean up your neighborhood!