Sustainability

Every year, Stratford Hall students are involved with a variety of events in the community, including a K-12 clean up day in the neighbourhood around the school, participating in the ISABC Student Climate Change Conference at UBC, as well as beach cleanups and stewardship in the local community orchard. 

Throughout last year, the Senior School Earth Club planned a series of events including stuff swaps, bike to school week, guest speakers, and tips for waste-free holidays in assemblies. Their hard work culminated in an incredible Earth Week with many students taking part in our Eco Fair with engaging activities and workshops. Outside groups such as the City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, Mobi Bike Sharing, and invited guests such as City Councillor Christine Boyle and BC Minister for Environment and Climate Change George Heyman were on hand to see our students in action and participate in the events. 

The Junior School Earth Club has been enthusiastic in their vision of improving sustainability in the PYP. This student-led group has shared their enthusiasm for reducing, reusing, and recycling through songs, games and activities, informational posters, and planning and executing challenges and activities throughout Earth Week. Meeting weekly, these dedicated students have taken charge of our rooftop garden and have dedicated time during the school year and throughout the summer to care for our plants and vegetables. Inquiring  into growing cycles, “squirmy wormies” and mason bees, these students are committed and motivated to take positive action for our future.  

We have been very proud of our efforts to practice sustainability within all three Stratford Hall buildings. Based on the results of a waste audit conducted in 2020, we have been successful in reducing the amount of landfill waste going to the landfill by more than 70% percent. Initiatives have included used pen and battery recycling, soft plastics collection, and a green waste composter was installed on the MYP roof capable of creating a closed-loop system to contribute to the soil in the rooftop gardens in the MYP and PYP. Efforts have been made to print double-sided, automate all smart boards and lights, and compost our paper towel waste. This year’s Winter Fair, organized by the SHPA, was on sustainability, and made efforts to reduce single-use items and packaging throughout the event. As much as possible, local companies were highlighted, as well as unique, homemade items. 

Sustainability is woven throughout the curriculum at Stratford Hall. We have started on an extensive mapping project to track where environmental literacy, stewardship and climate action is featured in our units. Currently, sustainability is prominently featured in our Grade 5 Exhibition, focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals,   as well as the Science and Individuals and Societies Interdisciplinary Unit about Resources and Technology, and the DP Geography syllabus focusing on Climate Action and Stewardship.

In the PYP, teachers and students engage with sustainability through their curricular connections, and through their actions. Embedded within different transdisciplinary themes like ‘Who We Are’, ‘How the World Works’, and of course, ‘Sharing the Planet’, students learn and take action on a variety of topics. In Grade 1, students investigate how humans in local and global communities affect living things. Grade 2 expands on this by analyzing the choices we can make to be more sustainable and limit our impact. Grade 3 focuses on the changing Earth and its diverse environments, while Grade 4 zooms in on how to be more sustainable towards specific biomes. Grade 5 investigates the perspectives on using these environments for obtaining resources, and how these practices offer both opportunities and challenges. In each instance, students are encouraged to use what they have learned to make actionable changes to their own lives, or the lives of others, all in the hope of making Stratford Hall, and our world, a more sustainable place to work and play. 

Through innovative programs, thoughtful initiatives, and a collaborative spirit, Stratford Hall empowers our students to embrace environmental stewardship, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to create a more sustainable and harmonious future for themselves and the world around them.