Peel board first to name secondary school for David Suzuki

School to focus on environmental education

TORONTO, Oct. 12 /CNW/ - Peel District School Board's newest secondary school is the first secondary school in Canada to be named for award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, David Suzuki. David Suzuki Secondary School is located in the Springbrook area of Brampton and will open in fall 2011.

Notes Janet McDougald, chair of the board, "David Suzuki is a passionate and determined environmental advocate who continues to work to create a more sustainable world. His commitment to build a better planet connects strongly to the vision and focus of our new school. We're delighted that he has agreed to allow this first secondary school to be named for him."

"All across Canada, young people are concerned about the quality of their environment and futures," says Suzuki. "Schools can be examples of a new relationship with our surroundings as they become more efficient in their use of energy and water, and reduce the amount of waste and pollution and create yards that are filled with plants and animals. It is an honour to have a school named after me as an indication of a commitment to a green future."

The school is planning an environmental focus. In addition to the sustainable design elements that are standard in the construction of all new schools, environmental education will be embedded in the school's programming. The school's plan includes:

    
    -   a partnership with the Credit Valley Conservation Authority
    -   a school environmental framework that supports effective
        environmental education and environmentally sound practices within
        the school
    -   a week dedicated to highlighting environmental education issues, in
        addition to ongoing cross-curricular environmental education
    -   the promotion of environmentally friendly practices such as:
        -  transportation by bicycle (provision of ample bike racks) or
           carpooling
        -  the use of recycling bins throughout the school and in all
           classroom areas
        -  use of litterless lunch and other waste reduction activities
        -  frequent energy audits
    -   achieving Eco Schools certification
    

David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, easily understood way.

Dr. Suzuki is a geneticist. He graduated from Amherst College (Massachusetts) in 1958 with an Honours BA in Biology, followed by a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961. He held a research associateship in the Biology Division of Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Lab (1961 - 62), was an Assistant Professor in Genetics at the University of Alberta (1962 - 63), and since then has been a faculty member of the University of British Columbia. He is now Professor Emeritus at UBC.

In 1972, he was awarded the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship for the outstanding research scientist in Canada under the age of 35 and held it for three years. He has won numerous academic awards and holds 24 honourary degrees in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. He was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and is a Companion of the Order of Canada. Dr. Suzuki has written 48 books, including 19 for children. His 1976 textbook An Introduction to Genetic Analysis (with A.J.F. Griffiths), remains the most widely used genetics text book in the U.S. and has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Greek, Indonesian, Arabic, French and German.

Dr. Suzuki has received consistently high acclaim for his thirty years of award-winning work in broadcasting. In 1974 he developed and hosted the long running popular science program Quirks and Quarks on CBC Radio for four years. He has since presented two influential documentary CBC radio series on the environment, It's a Matter of Survival and From Naked Ape to Superspecies. His national television career began with CBC in 1971 when he wrote and hosted Suzuki on Science. He was host of Science Magazine (1974 - 79) then created and hosted a number of television specials, and in 1979 became the host of the award-winning series, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki. He has won four Gemini Awards as best host of different Canadian television series. His eight part television series, A Planet for the Taking, won an award from the United Nations. His eight part BBC/PBS series, The Secret of Life, was praised internationally, as was his five part series The Brain for the Discovery Channel. On June 10, 2002 he received the John Drainie Award for broadcasting excellence.

Dr. Suzuki is also recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology. He is the recipient of UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environment Program Medal, UNEPs Global 500 and in 2009 won the Right Livelihood Award that is considered the alternate Nobel.

The Peel board serves more than 150,000 students in kindergarten to grade 12. Operating 233 schools in the municipalities of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga, the Peel board is the largest employer in Peel. For more information, visit the board's website at www.peelschools.org.

For further information: Media contact: Janet McDougald, Chair of the Board, 905-278-1402; Reference: Brian Woodland, Director of Communications, 905-890-1010, ext. 2812, [email protected]