Main photo: TLDSB Superintendent Jay MacJanet (fourth from left) receives climate curriculum and bookmarks from CAM and RTOERO representatives Tamsen Tillson, Sue McKenzie, Janet Libke, Linda Mathers, and Joanne Garvey. (Carolynne Bull)
Submitted by Climate Action Muskoka
Climate Action Muskoka (CAM) and RTOERO (formerly the Retired Teachers of Ontario) have provided Community Carbon Challenge bookmarks and a companion Climate Curriculum to grades 4 to 6 teachers and students in Muskoka schools to spread awareness of ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
“We hope that students will take the ideas home and encourage their families to take up the challenge to reduce their GHG emissions,” says CAM member, Len Ring.
CAM’s Community Carbon Challenge provides the content and resources for both the bookmarks and the curriculum, and highlights simple every-day actions that individuals and families can take to lower their carbon footprint.
A study of youth around the globe, released in Britain last September prior to the global COP26 Climate Summit, reveals that young people are feeling helplessness and despair about the climate crisis. It identified the source of their anxiety as adults not taking the actions required to protect their future. The bookmark project in Muskoka provides the opportunity to enhance family discussions that focus on solutions, starting with individual actions.
Trillium Lakelands District School Board and the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board approved the distribution of the bookmarks and climate curriculum to all junior classes in Muskoka schools. Private schools have also received packages.
Last summer, CAM and RTOERO jointly distributed 7,000 bookmarks in Muskoka communities through local businesses, libraries, and other organizations. Watch for them again this year. If you have not yet obtained a bookmark, you can find all of the Challenge information at www.climateactionmuskoka.org.
We invite you to join over 100 Muskoka households in taking collective action by signing up to take the challenge to reduce your household’s carbon footprint.
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