At Colonel Gray, April is ‘Earth Month’, and this April is packed with events, courtesy of Ms. Sheppard and the Colonel Gray Environment Club. In the past, the club has met throughout the year, but Ms. Sheppard says that it eventually ‘fizzled out and died’. Though the events have already been planned, the club has come back for four to five weeks in order to run them.
Some of these events are already underway. Since the start of the month, students and teachers at several local schools have been decorating paper bags which will be given out at Sobeys on University Avenue. Paper bags are usually available at the store for a small fee, but the decorated ones will be available free of charge.
The club will also be writing discussion questions on the lobby chalkboards. Chalk will be provided for students to add their thoughts.
The annual clothing swap will be held between the 15th and 18th of April. The environment club will be going from class to class, seeking donations. Throughout the week, the clothes will be given out on the cafeteria stage, free of charge.
On the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of April, the club will be holding the popular trash-sorting game in the cafeteria. Participants are given a number of items and a certain amount of time, and must put all of the items into the correct bins before the time is up. Ms. Sheppard says that students often struggle with the game. “People usually suck at it, and then get really intense about it. They’re like, ‘I wanna try again! I wanna try again!’”
Students are also encouraged to wear green on the 22nd, which is Earth Day.
Two events will close out the month. On the 29th of April, around two hundred plants; currently growing in the library, old art room, and other locations around the school; will be distributed to students free of charge in the art room. Students will be allowed to take one plant each before returning to the back of the line. On the 30th of April, various classes will be participating in a garbage cleanup. The cleanup will cover a huge area, from University Avenue to Victoria Park. The cleanup may be postponed to the 31st of April if the weather is unsuitable on the 30th.
In addition to these events, the club has some other items on its agenda, including replacing the signs for the trash cans in the cafeteria. They are also seeking a grade ten student to act as a Student Council Environmental Representative. There is one position of this kind for each grade. Anyone interested in this position would act as the grade eleven representative in 2024-2025, and the grade twelve representative in 2025-2026.
Written by: Liew Gorman
Photos taken from: Liew Gorman, Ariel Wu
Photos editted by: Ariel Wu
Reviewed by: Ariel Wu, Fiona Le, Nancy Milton
Published by: Ariel Wu