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Huron Heights "Groovy Greens" win OPG environmental award By Liz Dadson |
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 Jen McKellar (back, left) and the Huron Heights "Groovy Greens" | ||||
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Jen McKellar wanted to create a club that would teach, motivate and inspire students, staff and the community to reuse, reduce and recycle within the school's walls and hopefully beyond. A teacher at Huron Heights Public School, she approached the school principal four years ago about the idea, and the "Groovy Greens" group was born. This year, the club is being recognized for its hard work and dedication, having been named the winner of the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) Environmental Award through the Kincardine and District Chamber of Commerce. This award goes to a business, organization or individual who is guided by a sense of responsibility and respect for the environment, which manifests itself through initiatives designed to preserve, conserve or improve the local environment. There are 53 members in the club and they meet every Tuesday afternoon in the school library. Every Friday is Recycling Day and the group gathers up all the recyclables in the school. McKellar says the reason she wanted to start the club was it bothered her that the school wasn't recycling paper. "That's what motivated me to get this rolling, and I needed the help of the staff and students." The club practises songs and skits and presents them during school spirit days with the goal of increasing awareness and participation in reducing everyone's environmental footprint. The group also did environmental jingles to Christmas carols during the festive season. The annual Earth Day T-shirt contest is held around April 22. This year, it will incorporate an Earth Day Fashion Show at the assembly on April 19. And March 22 is World Water Day, when "The Story of the Water Bottle" is told. In addition, there are "Groovy Greens Gotchas" which club members hand out when they see someone doing something "green," such as recycling, gardening, walking to school or doing projects on the environment. The gotcha wins the recipient 100 house points. McKellar is working with OPG and the Municipality of Kincardine to hold Earth Week activities. The school is also part of the Bluewater District School Board's "Green at Heart" program, promoting the campaign against idling vehicles, and reducing paper use. The goal is to reach ECO-school status.
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Upon hearing of the win, McKellar says she is quite honoured to receive the award on behalf of herself and the "Groovy Greens." "It's nice to be recognized for the extra effort," she says, "but I definitely get great reward from working with these kids. They are so keen to get other kids involved, and ultimately the goal is to get entire families and the community participating." As for the "Groovy Greens," they thought the award was "awesome," "fabulous," and they were pleased that all their hard work is paying off. Their message is simple: turn off the lights when you leave a room, recycle milk cartons (separate to the municipal Blue Box program), compost using the green cone digesters, turn off the water, don't leave your car idling, drink tap water, tell people to pick up trash, and reuse, reduce and recycle. Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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