P’Kol Environmental Leadership Program (KELP)
Students in the P’Kol Environmental Leadership Program (KELP) will learn about issues in sustainability and work on group and/or individual projects to create positive change while learning real life skills. KELP students collaborate to design and run events that make a difference in the world.
This year-long leadership class centers around group processes and activities, individual research and hands-on projects, guest speakers, volunteer activities, and working with nature outside. Students will develop skills in project planning, time management, teamwork, research and reflection while providing school and community service.
The course participants meet on Tuesdays at lunch and choose their after-school commitments over the entire school year.
Learning Evaluation is based on volunteer hours, attendance at weekly classes, planning and running group projects and individually designed events and reflections on these learning processes.
Current groups include:
Mount Doug’s School Garden: students plant, grow, weed, harvest and package produce for sales year-round while caring for the soil. Students also engineer and maintain structures within the garden.
Mount Doug’s Native Garden: plants from the local Garry Oak ecosystem thrive in Mount Doug’s native garden. Students learn and share information on the indigenous uses of the plants while growing them. Seeds and plants are gathered, packaged and available for the local community at Native Plant Sales.
Ocean: students plan and run shoreline clean ups on weekends at local beaches. They are engaged in community science efforts to monitor and find solutions for microplastics in the environment. Many are part of the Surfriders Club!
Youth Outreach Program: students develop dynamic educational programs on environmental issues that include hands-on activities that are presented at local middle and elementary schools after school on Fridays.
Recycling: the recycling crew collects returnable containers around the school while educating classmates about sorting their waste. The group also organizes school ground clean ups to keep Mount Doug beautiful!
DAE (Design, Art, Environment): students design creative projects related to the environment that enhance our garden and school!
Mount Tolmie: students do restoration work to maintain the Garry Oak Ecosystem that is native to these lands.
Students can start new groups as well. Past groups have included BC politics and old growth protection, Climate Change and Sustainable Energy.
As students develop leadership skills in the program, they emerge as group leaders who provide communication processes, hands-on training, mentorship and support for students working on various projects.
The Big Ideas include:
• Local environments contain diverse ecosystems with many roles and relationships
• Interconnected systems sustain healthy ecosystems
• Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems
• Humans can play a role in conservation and restoration of ecosystems
• Human activities have caused changes to global systems
• Living sustainably supports the well-being of self, community and Earth
• Working together we can make a difference and have fun
Students may take Environmental Leadership in Grades 10, 11 and 12 and are welcome to join the program in any grade.