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Sustainability Day 2024

Posted on December 11, 2024

Each school year, FortWhyte Alive hosts two Sustainability Days – days filled with special activities and stations around different aspects of environmental sustainability. These experiences offer middle years students the opportunity to learn about sustainability from local experts in these fields.

Our fall Sustainability Day welcomed 90 Grade 5-7 students and their educators from 3 different Winnipeg schools for a day of learning about how environmental sustainability is key to maintaining a healthy planet and healthy people.

Throughout the day, students rotated through stations to learn about different aspects of environmental sustainability.

children run through forest on sustainability day

They played a climate change board game and learned which human activities are leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions and developed strategies to build greener cities and lifestyles.

The ecosystem station offered a hands-on role-playing game where students played animals on a forest food chain and learned how difficult it was to meet their needs for water, food, shelter and space. Students were challenged to think about shrinking ecosystems and how to regain natural spaces to help maintain animal and plant populations.

Students sat with an Anishinaabe traditional knowledge holder and learned new perspectives on indigenous views on sustainability. Tea made with traditional plants was shared and items related to indigenous people’s relationship with the land were passed around the sharing circle.

youth sit in circle on sustainability day

Sustainability Day had both the students and teachers engaged.

“The presenter asked us: How does climate change affect you personally. It sparked some interesting conversations”. – Participating Teacher

“Students enjoyed running around the forest, playing the climate change board game and drinking tea & listening to stories”. – Participating Teacher

 

Ideas from students on how we can all live more sustainably;

  • Take showers instead of baths
  • Ride your bike or take the bus to school
  • Unplug appliances when not in use
  • Turn off the tap when it’s not in use
  • Plant trees
  • Pick up garbage in the community
  • Compost
  • Be respectful of nature
  • Throw trash away properly
  • Use bikes to commute
  • Don’t waste
  • Throw plastic in the right bin
  • Turn off your engine
  • Take care of wildlife
children run through forest on sustainability day

Thanks to our Educational Partners!

FortWhyte Alive thanks the following organizations and experts for sharing their knowledge and inspiring the next generation of climate activists.

Climate Change Connection
Taylor Galvin (Anishinaabekwe environmental scientist)

Thanks to our Funders!

TD Friends of the Environment Foundation

Manitoba Education

Thank you to Manitoba Education and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation