Green Schools
The Government of British Columbia is working to become carbon neutral in 2010, and the provincial public sector is taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Ministry of Education is committed to support the government’s carbon neutral goal, in its operations and educational initiatives across school districts.
Climate Action News
Read the School Districts Reports: 2008 to see what districts have done to reduce their carbon output.
The Premier announced the Climate Action Revenue Incentive (CARI) Charter in September 2008. Boards of Education that sign the Charter will be reimbursed annually for all of the carbon tax they paid in the previous calendar year.
For more information, please see:
- Climate Action Charter (PDF, 38KB)
- Climate Action Charter Q&A's (PDF, 38KB)
- Carbon Tax Calculation SD form (Excel, 38KB)
Green Schools Initiatives
The Ministry of Education is working with the BC Climate Action Secretariat and collaborating with other government ministries, agencies and boards of education to establish and coordinate Green School initiatives, strategies and programs that enhance environmental sustainability.
Green Schools’ initiatives and programs are focused on the following four themes:
- Supporting students
- Supporting teachers
- Developing school communities
- Enhancing school infrastructure and transportation systems
1. Supporting students in becoming more aware of environmental issues, their ability to become local leaders and improve their sustainable practices in everyday life.
- BC Green Games is a province-wide competition for students, designed to motivate environmental action, enable sharing, and reward and celebrate the green efforts of schools in B.C. View the prize-winning projects and register your school to participate.
2. Supporting teachers to use environmental sustainability ideas and concepts in their teaching.
- Environmental Learning and Experience guide with videos is a multimedia document that helps all K-12 teachers integrate environmental learning principles into their teaching.
- Curriculum Maps
Additional tools are also available from:
- Climate Change Lesson Plans
- Eco Kits for Schools
- Resources for Rethinking
- BC Hydro Education Resources
- Wild BC Publications
- Science World Green Lesson Plans
3. Developing school communities to be more effective, efficient and environmentally responsible. 
- LiveSmartBC - BC Government Climate Change - Everyone can reduce energy use at home and at school in many ways.
4. Enhancing school infrastructure and transportation systems to reduce provincial greenhouse emissions.
- Solar for Schools Program provides grants to school districts for installing solar hot water systems on school roofs.
- Hub for Action on School Transportation Emissions
- Green School Grounds
- Trees for Tomorrow Program
