County gets environmental award

(STAFF) — Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Glen R. Murray has presented the County of Simcoe with an award for Environmental Excellence to acknowledge the Learning & Living Green partnership program between the county and local school boards.

This prestigious award acknowledges leadership and innovation in environmental protection and recognizes home-grown environmental achievements in Ontario.

“I am extremely proud of our innovative and environmentally responsible solid waste management programs and I would like to thank the province for recognizing this important initiative,” said Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall. “The Learning & Living Green program is a shining example of how effective partnerships enable us to connect and engage with our residents to not only inform them about our services, but create positive change.”

The award was granted to the County of Simcoe from the province for the Learning & Living Green program’s capacity to foster knowledge, values and behavioural change through innovation, promotion and outreach, which lead to environmental benefits.

Learning & Living Green is a unique program that provides education about recycling and organics collection to more than 100 local schools — pairing the same programs for waste diversion in our homes to those in the classroom.

This is a partnership program co-ordinated by the county through five local school boards: Simcoe County District School Board; Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board; Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud; Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest; and the Protestant Separate School Board.

The Learning & Living Green program was introduced in 2010. Since its implementation, approximately 2,000 tonnes of recyclables and organics have been collected from local schools, resulting in an increase in waste diversion from 37% to 79.5%.

“The program educates children about the county’s waste management programs and provides experiential learning through the environmental curriculum developed by the school boards in support of the partnership,” said Rob McCullough, the county’s director of solid waste management. “Our objective is to educate students about our programs so they can influence proper waste disposal techniques both in school and at home.”