Theme SO 1: Education and Learning

Insurance Market Information Sessions Provide information sessions about the importance of employee benefits programs to businesses and employees in the Kingston area. The more people understand what is available, the better informed they are about choice they make pertaining to their health and welfare.

Quarterly information sessions regarding changes that are occurring in the insurance market and how those changes may impact businesses and employees in Kingston.

Ongoing

Sponsored Visits Sponsored the visits of and exposure to 1000's of Kingston youth for Michael (Pinball) Clemens, Craig Kielburger, founder of Free The Children, Liz Murray from Homeless to Harvard.

Ongoing

Kingston Flying Club Donation and advisory support to The Kingston Flying Club to develop a Career College and fund raising campaign.

Ongoing

Footprint Campus hub for information, discussion and action on sustainability.

Actively engage and educate students and staff on campus and community sustainability.

Ongoing

One Earth One Chance Environmental Summit The Environmental Leadership (EL) focus program Environmental Club, and Environmental Science class at Bayridge S.S., are going to partner together to run the One Earth One ChanceEnvironmental Summit for local high schools and feeder elementary students to increase awareness of environment issues and empower students to affect change in their home schools.  The summit is student driven; led and organized by students for students.  After a very successful summit last year, it is my hope that the One Earth One Chance Summit can be an annual event that is designed by students for the Limestone District School Board Community.

Summit participants will leave the conference with new knowledge about the environment and ways that they can affect change in their schools and communities.  They will gain extra curricular experiences to help them with Eco Schools initiatives at their home schools.

Annual Summit

Eco-School Students and staff are working together to promote environmental awareness at Bayridge Secondary School through is all areas of school cultureby working together to reduce waste, conserve electricity, implement environmental awareness into implementing Green curriculum and promote ecofriendly practice.

Our goal again this year is to earn an Eco-Schools certification of gold, silver, or bronze.

Yearly Certification

Organize Junior and Teen naturalist groups

To help young people learn about the natural environment, and to develop different aspects of their academic potential.

Meetings held twice a month from September to April each year.

Literacy Tutors The Library hires university students to provide literacy programs to ensure that children do not regress in their reading levels during the summer.

To ensure children do not regress in their reading levels during the summer.

Ongoing

Every Child Ready to Read KFPL staff help parents and caregivers to create young readers by providing children from birth to age 5 with materials and activities to ensure that they enter school with the skills they need to learn to read, write, and listen.

To help create young readers.

Ongoing

Sustainability Presentations and Workshops Organizations that practise sustainability can reduce costs, create trust with their partners, recruit the best workers, reduce their risks to a minimum, and stay ahead of government regulation. Customized presentations and interactive workshops for groups and organizations seeking to become more sustainable. Steven Moore has presented more than 30 workshops on Sustainability for businesses and organizations.

Education for those in the business world and those entering the business world about Sustainability as the foundation of best practices and the driver of intelligent decision-making.

Ongoing

Notes from the Underground: Steven Moore’s blog for Kingstonlife.ca Bi-monthly chapters explaining how the Moores’ earth-sheltered home was designed and constructed. Includes detailed explanations of green roof construction, Trombe wall for passive solar, ICF construction, drainage, biofilter septic system, low-maintenance landscaping, and interior (breathe-safe) finishing. The column expanded to include Tips and Techniques on many facets of green construction and landscaping.

Education of general public to green building and landscaping techniques.

Bi-monthly

Community Fostering of a Millennium Village in Rwanda Based on having students share together in building a children’s millennium village as a forum for community-wide advocacy for the MDG’s through  fostering a Millennium Village in Rwanda and working to fund its path to sustainability.

To make the Millennium Development Goals a meaningful community presence.

Ongoing

Working with the Community Collaborate with existing groups in Kingston who are undertaking similar work, rather than duplicating efforts.

Collaborate with a variety of community groups.

Ongoing

Elorin Entrepreneurship Training Elorin is planning a series of entrepreneurial training sessions. Topics have not yet been confirmed, but may include business plan development, navigating government funding, sales & marketing training, and how to pitch to investors.

Provide guidance to entrepreneurs.

Ongoing

Youth Mentoring Youth
Youth Mentoring Youth will see, host, engage and mentor students in grades 4-8 in the Limestone and Algonquin school systems. Using 5 display stations, the visiting class will split into equal groups and rotate to each hosted station. The objective is to foster behavioural change via the students then influencing their families and peers to take action in the journey to sustainable practives in the management of energy, water, waste, transportation and food.

Educate 500 elementary school children.

Annual Program

E-news Updates, Lila Quarterly (newspaper) and Lila Website
These all provide updates and listings of local and global programs and events.

To educate and inform citizens about programs in line with Lila’s mission statement.

Ongoing

Internal Sustainability Promotion
Promote sustainability within the company by: minimized fleet, driving to job site, recycling and purchasing of safe/environmental products.

Ongoing education and dedication by ALL staff to demonstrate sustainable landscape service as normal course.

Ongoing

Benefits of Trees - Education of Public
Promote the benefits of trees to customers and the general public by having a display at the Kingston Sustainability Centre.

Inform the community about the importance of trees.

Completed April 2011

Queen’s Solar Journey
The Solar Journey is our overarching name for our team’s educational initiatives. Throughout the year we have been attending tradeshows and conferences to promote green building. We built a “Corner Model of Sustainability,” which is a model of a corner of a home, which showcases radiant floor heating, recycled paint, an Energy Star window, and bamboo flooring. We use this Corner to educate the public, as we travel to different events throughout Southern Ontario (Kingston, Toronto, Ottawa, etc.). As part of this initiative, we also wish to educate high school and elementary school students through educational activities and learning sessions.

Our goal is to travel to at least 6 events each year (tradeshows, conferences and community events) as well as hold at least 4 events targeted specifically towards students (elementary, high school, and Queen’s students).

Ongoing

Sustainability Training for All Associates
Emphasis is placed on rationale for and implementation of sustainability efforts with team “captains” assigned the responsibility of ongoing management of these efforts. Associates are evaluated on composting/recycling in their annual Performance Appraisal.

Equip and empower staff to practice and become part of sustainability efforts in the hotel.

Ongoing

School Garden Project
A full description is available.

200-300 visitors to Wintergreen gardens annually, with 2 or 3 partnering schools creating or enhancing school gardens that focus on growing herbs and vegetables.

Ongoing (annual)

Open Monthly Meetings
SWITCH hosts monthly open meetings for individuals interested in sustainable energy in the area. The meetings are a forum for discussion, promoting community involvement. Dates, times, locations, and speaker information is available on the SWITCH website.

To promote sustainable energy and provide a forum for discussion and education.

Ongoing

Limestone Skills Competition
Students from both Elementary and Secondary grades will be competing in a skills competition at St. Lawrence College. A Green Design Challenge has been added to the competition. Students will demonstrate various sustainable actions and products in this competition.

To have students create innovative designs with sustainable targets and goals.

Ongoing

ecoSchools Program
An environmental education program for grades K-12 that helps students develop both ecological literacy and environmental practices to become environmentally responsible citizens.

Individual schools strive to achieve a Gold, Silver or Bronze Certification Status, which is reassessed annually.

Ongoing

Supporting the Education of Registered Dietitians
Internship supporting the professional licensing of dietetic interns so to positively contribute to the nutritional health of individuals, groups and the population as a whole.

For each year's group of dietetic interns to successfully pass the College of Dietitians entry exam, obtain their licenses to practice as Registered Dietitians and secure employment.

Ongoing

Speak Up Kingston Campaign/Speak Up Ontario (2011)
An initiative to increase voter turnout and engage younger voters in the municipal process. To be implemented provincially and federally as required.

To ensure that voter turnout does not fall below 35% for the 2010 Municipal Elections and engage younger voters in the process.

Ongoing

Safe Cycling Initiatives — Education, Skills, Awareness
Cycle Kingston is engaged in many activities that promote safe cycling and the use of bicycles for transportation and recreational activities. Some basic activities of the organization include: the Cycling Ambassadors Program, the cycling skills courses, public lectures and workshops, cycling safety awareness campaigns, and promoting cycling and cycling culture through activities such as Celebrate Cycling Week.

To increase the number of people who ride their bicycles safely and confidently; thereby, demonstrating that bicycles are a safe and reasonable form of transportation.

Ongoing