Environmental Stewardship Must Be Grounded in Sound Knowledge

TORONTO, April 22 /CNW/ - Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22nd, acting as a call for action to address the many challenges to the fragile environment on which our very survival depends and to commit to ongoing environmental stewardship. On this day, many schools will be undertaking projects to support the environment and their community.

Teachers know that if our young people are to become life-long environmental stewards, their actions must be grounded in sound knowledge.

As the federation representing 76,000 elementary teachers in Ontario, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has long been an advocate for environmental education in Ontario's elementary classrooms. Initiatives have including reviewing Ministry of Education policy and materials on environmental education, exploring and identifying environmental education resources that support teachers in the classroom and working with organizations such as Green Street to prepare teachers to use environmental education materials with their students.

Reaching out beyond the classroom, ETFO provides incentive funding to assist its Locals with the delivery of Earth Day activities or programs in their communities.

One of the priorities that guides the activities and initiatives undertaken by the federation is to "promote the care and protection of the environment". This is expressed internally by initiatives that model and encourage its Locals to adopt environmentally friendly practices at all ETFO sponsored events. As one example, ETFO has committed to making every one of its Representative Council meetings carbon neutral.

"Education can be a formidable force for change," says ETFO President Sam Hammond. "A commitment to environmental education in the classroom together with positive environmental actions in the community can contribute to building the foundation for life-long environmental stewardship."

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario represents 76,000 elementary public school teachers and education workers across the province and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.

For further information: Sam Hammond, President, ETFO, [phone] (Office); Larry Skory, ETFO Communications, [phone] (office), [phone] (cell)