April 24, 2024
The Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) has released a three-year Environmental Action Plan which outlines the board’s commitment to developing and fostering an ethic of care for the environment in all staff and students. It defines the board’s efforts to connect with the land, take action to preserve and protect the land, and to become community leaders in environmental practices.
The plan was developed throughout the 2022/2023 school year by a committee composed of educators, employees from all AMDSB departments, a Trustee representative, and community partners of AMDSB. It articulates three Calls to Action:
- Teach and learn on and about the land so students and educators develop relationships with the more-than-human world that inspire its preservation and protection.
- Provide opportunities for students to become knowledgeable and active environmental leaders in their communities.
- The Avon Maitland District School Board will serve as a model of environmental care and responsibility.
AMDSB is leading the way in this area as one of only a few school boards across the country committing to an action plan of this scope.
April Smith, Superintendent of Education shares: “We believe that implementation of this action plan is a shared responsibility among system and school leaders, staff, students, and the community. In all decision-making, connecting to the land and our impact on the more-than-human world need to be considered.”
“The Environmental Action Plan is a framework for AMDSB staff and students as they consider their impact on the land in their day-to-day activities and operations, and long-term programming and planning.” Smith continued.
The Plan is grounded in a desire to uphold the Truth and Reconciliation’s 94 Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples. It recognizes and respects the relationship Indigenous peoples have always had with the land. It acknowledges that the lands our district occupies are homelands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Peoples, and it affirms our ongoing commitment to care for these lands.
The Environmental Action Plan can be viewed on the board’s website at amdsb.ca/environmentalactionplan.
For more information, please contact:
Chera Longston, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
519-301-6363 (cell); [email protected]