DCDSB Receives City of Pickering Environmental Schools Grant

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Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) received a $10,000 Pickering Environmental Schools Grant towards a sustainable project and/or learning opportunity for Pickering schools. The grant has provided opportunities for students at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School, St. Monica Catholic School and St. Mary Catholic Secondary School.

St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Secondary School has been able to create an outdoor classroom space at the school through this grant. The outdoor classroom will allow for hands-on, outdoor experiential learning opportunities for students.

St. Monica Catholic School was able to put funds towards planting pollinator gardens. St. Monica’s Eco team wanted to create a space with many types of Indigenous and drought-resistant flowering plants to attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, to the garden. The garden will help to support the life systems strand in the science curriculum for all grades. The garden is located by the outdoor classroom, so it is an ideal location for studying the ecosystem that has been created. 

Through this grant, Soper Creek Wildlife Rescue visited St. Mary Catholic Secondary School Grade 9 science classes and the Eco Team in November 2022. Soper Creek Wildlife Rescue shared information about the local animals they rehabilitate and return to their natural habitats. Part of the grant also went towards purchasing related supplies, including owl pellets to dissect, green house technology for Micro:bits, soil and water testing kits as well as outdoor science tools. The supplies allow for experiential hands-on learning and explorations with extensions to future pathways. Students learned about the connection of the land and animals and how we can do more to protect and care for the world around us. 

A special thank you to the City of Pickering for providing these opportunities to St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School, St. Monica Catholic School, and St. Mary Catholic Secondary School.