UGDSB’s Community Environmental Leadership Program celebrates 30 years

GUELPH – For 30 years, the Upper Grand District School Board has offered a Community Environmental Leadership Program (CELP) for high school students. 

The program centres around environmental education and social change.  

The anniversary will be celebrated with a reunion on May 2 in Guelph. 

Attendees will meet at Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute at 3pm and then go on a guided walk to Guelph’s Covered Bridge and back. 

The walk will be followed by a potluck and memory sharing at the school at 5:30, a ceremony at 7pm, and a campfire jam at 7:30. 

People are encouraged to attend part or all of the event, and children of all ages are welcome.   

Attendees are encouraged to bring a plate, cup, cutlery, potluck item, a serving utensil, and memories from their time in CELP including pictures, songs and instruments.  

The program began at CCVI in 1995 with teacher Mike Elrick, and has now expanded to also include Norwell District Secondary School and Wellington Heights District Secondary School.

For 28 years the program was offered both semesters, but last year dropped down to one semester per year. 

Students spend time at the University of Guelph Arboretum, Luther Marsh, Conestogo Lake, the Grand River Conservation Area and in the Town of Minto, where officials say they “step into a close-knit community for the semester, appreciate nature through a wilderness trip, and foster an understanding of local and global environmental issues and action.” 

Activities range from urban biking, leading stations at a groundwater festival, banding birds, planting trees for watershed management, building garden boxes and harvesting vegetables. 

“Students also gain an appreciation for an active lifestyle within the natural environment by participating in hiking, camping, snow shoeing, canoeing, rock climbing and cross country skiing,” officials say.