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Are You With Them?

This week on Tuesday, members from our St. Clement’s School Eco Team hosted assembly. They used this time to celebrate Earth Week, to educate our community on the detrimental impact of micro-plastics on our planet, and to remind us of our important role in rectifying this issue.

The girls showed this video, which I encourage everyone in our community to watch and consider.

I am proud of work our Eco Team and those in our community who support green initiatives are doing. Their passion is admirable. They see the urgent need for change, the impact that our mistreatment of the environment is having, and the culture change required in our community to reduce the mistreatment.

I struggle to understand why, in a place of learning, where we continually think of the future as we educate our girls, there isn’t more of a broad commitment to supporting green initiatives. These initiatives are, in fact, necessary if we wish our girls to grow up in an environment where they are able to enjoy their health, where they can still have clean water to drink, and where our planet is not in worse shape than it is now.

I believe in supporting our girls as they enable change. They are bright, they have conviction, and they care deeply about many important issues. I also believe that, as the adults in their lives, we have a significant role to play in guiding and facilitating their growth. There are times we have to be prepared to provide parameters and times when we have to support them in their endeavours- particularly when they are one that we intellectually know are right. We must not underestimate the importance of being role models for our girls.

Far too often when I am at the door in the morning, girls and parents sheepishly come in with their disposable coffee and smoothie cups. They tuck them away to avoid comment, or they apologize as they come in. Some, I know, even avoid the main door. It is evident to me that they know they should use a travel or reusable mug yet they don’t. Far too often, community members are reminded to take a travel mug with them when they head out during the day to get a drink. And yet they don’t. To be clear we have a large collection of clean, available ones in our lunchroom.

Until we all recognize and admit that these less-than-ideal choices- day after day- are contributing to a dire environmental future, we are not, in my mind, truly committing to creating the very best futures for our girls.

It is time that- far beyond one week of Earth Week celebrations- we as a community ensure that we are doing what’s right for our girls and their futures.

Are you with them?

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