does Earth week mean to you and your community? For me, it’s the community coming together and volunteering their time to a bigger cause. This Earth week was a prime example of how small things can make a big impact.

 

I’m Bea, a Grade 12 student in Renfrew House, and I was given the opportunity to lead the Sustainability Council this year. We run many events throughout the year, including our Christmas gift-making night and travelling to the University of British Columbia’s environmental conference. Earth Week is by far the biggest event we organize, and the council and I really stepped up this year with many events running throughout the whole week.

 

We started with the annual Shawnigan Community Clean Up on April 20, organized by the Rotary Club of Shawnigan Lake EcoClub, a great way to connect with the local community, and then our own Campus Clean Up the following day. The council held a trash-sorting competition on Monday afternoon and a clothing swap on Monday night – the clothing swap was definitely a highlight of the week with music pumping and a busy crowd in the theatre.

 

On Tuesday, we had a vegetarian day to showcase the importance of eating green every now and then, and played the movie The Lorax at the Stag Café. Wednesday was definitely the highlight of my week with the Sustainability Gathering in Chapel and a nature walk. During Chapel I had Sorath from the council dress up as the Lorax and perform a skit with Mr. Lamont, and a garbage-sorting speech from Emma and Mattias, and we finished off with Kate’s speech about her experience with being environmentally friendly at Shawnigan.

 

Thursday was Wear Green day, when everyone could wear green for a small donation of $2. We fundraised for conservation efforts at the Cowichan Estuary, raising over $250. I was so happy to see everyone in their green shirts; it really proved that people cared for the cause and wanted to participate. The sculptures made of garbage were due by Thursday. The theme my council chose this year was dinosaurs, and Mr. Bartlett was blown away by the use of garbage and creativity behind these sculptures, with Groves’ House winning first place. And that was the end of Earth week!

 

I believe Shawnigan still has a long way to go with sustainability, but each year we’re making steps to educate and spread awareness about climate change and the little things you can do to be more environmentally friendly. It’s important to focus on the positive things and how far we have come with conserving our earth. I'm so glad I was able to share my passion for sustainability with the School community and hopefully everyone was able to take away ways to be a little more sustainable in their everyday lives.