Earth Steward Teaching Award 2022 Winners

2022 Award Recipients

The following educators have been chosen as the recipients of LSF’s 2022 Earth Steward Teaching Awards to recognize teachers for their exemplary contribution to sustainability education in Canada. This year’s winners and runners up demonstrate exceptional leadership in sustainability education, are recognized as inspirations to their students and school community, and have taken on creative, innovative projects to advance sustainability learning and education.

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Elementary Winner: Jacey Jones

(Tecumseh Public School – Burlington, Ontario)

Jacey is an exemplary teacher at Tecumseh Public School in Burlington, Ontario. She leads the Eco Team at the school and generates a sense of belonging and excitement for every student who gets involved. Jacey creates several ‘challenges’ throughout the year that are reported on the morning video announcements to build excitement around the school. A few examples are a GOOS bin challenge for the entire school to reuse paper, a ‘Waste-Free Lunch’ challenge where students learned the best ways to help their parents pack reusable items in their lunches, and a sewing club to reuse old fabrics and teach students how to sew.  Jacey strives to educate everyone around her and with her infectious personality and love for the outdoors, everyone buys in! She is especially careful to try to create projects and events that leave students feeling like they have made a difference and can have a positive impact through simple, everyday choices. 

 

Secondary Winner: Clarke Dyer

(Victoria School of the Arts – Edmonton, Alberta) 

Clarke teaches at Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton, Alberta, and is a passionate, reflective, and caring educator that cares as much for the environment as he does for his students. He models this in his teaching, from the numerous artifacts in his classroom (including a garden tower), to his work in creating an orchard and Indigenous medicine wheel garden on the school grounds, to the edible front yard garden and beehive that he keeps to produce his own honey. He demonstrates this leadership in every aspect of his life. Clarke creates opportunities for his students to engage in their learning whenever he can. He spearheaded the creation of the orchard and garden at his school—not a simple task at a school of almost 2,000 students. Where others would have been deterred by the scope and cost of the project, he sought out donations, he sourced materials, and he sacrificed his own time and money to help make it happen. Not only did he create a garden that was aesthetically pleasing, but it was also important to him to have the garden be an act of reconciliation by making it in the shape of a medicine wheel. He also uses his own knowledge to instill a love for the environment in his students and co-workers! 

 

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Elementary Runner-up: Kimberly Villanueva

(Shauna May Seneca School – Edmonton, Alberta)

 

Kimberly Villanueva teaches at Shauna May Seneca School, in Edmonton, Alberta. She helps those around her to believe that, regardless of their age, anyone can make a difference in making the world a better place for everyone. She lives her beliefs and passion every day in her actions. She inspires her students to be better citizens of tomorrow by believing in themselves. In her lessons and discussions, she motivates students to be curious and to think “outside the box.” She often uses project-based teaching and learning techniques to hook her students and action-based activities to make the world a better place, like her Ukraine Action and Clean Water projects. These are hands-on activities that flow across subject areas and involve the community, school and classroom. Kimberly has been a great role model for her students as well as her co-workers. 

Secondary Runner-up: Caroline Côté

(École secondaire publique Gisèle-Lalonde – Ottawa, Ontario)

Caroline Côté teaches at Gisèle-Lalonde Public High School in Ottawa, Ontario. She ‘pollinates’ students’ ideas by trusting them and challenging them. It is often through discussion and debate that students’ ideas emerge. Caroline has a gift for putting her students in situations to make them think, to go further. It was during these many discussions and debates that her students got the idea to have a beehive installed at the school—an idea that became a reality through hard work and student leadership! Caroline also inspires her students with environmentally themed trips. The students had the privilege of seeing the belugas in Tadoussac, where they’ll become motivated to help protect them. Her students have learned to undertake projects, organize and take responsibility for themselves. This passion that she embodies creates a ripple effect. All of a sudden, other students have joined her group, colleagues have lent a hand and parents are now raising their hands to volunteer. Caroline Côté is the helper bee of Gisèle-Lalonde Public High School.

 

Honourable Mentions

Congratulations to:

  • James Riske (Edenwood Middle School, Mississauga, ON)
  • Warren Lake (Robert Thirsk High School, Calgary, AB)
  • Lillian Tu, Karen Chung (Milliken Mills
    High School, Markham ON)
  • April Soni (Goulbourn Middle School, Stittsville, ON)