Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

OVERVIEW

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FACI L I T I ES AND GROUNDS

Sustainability at Havergal

Havergal students have long shown themselves to be active participants in the larger world through their commitment to community service. Havergal: Celebrating a Century notes that as far back as 1971 students were aware of and concerned about threats to the environment: “Pollution Probe, a 1971 addition to the clubs, campaigned against the destruction of the city’s environment, the Spadina Expressway, and ‘the damage that humans have inflicted on their natural resources.’” However, by the 1990s the history book also informs us that students, like the wider community, understood better that what could be perceived as a local problem was emblematic of a growing threat to the planet itself: In 1990, in response to new concerns, an environmental committee was formed with representatives from every grade to plan activities, stimulate concern for the environment, and … prepare to participate in Earth Day in April. By 1991, the group had become a club, had introduced recycling and composting programs, and had made its presence known through Environmental Week. Throughout that decade, students made excellent use of BTI , the school newspaper, to express their concerns and foster greater awareness of a range of environmental issues, but their efforts intensified with the new millennium. Articles on waste and consumption appeared regularly after 2000 and were informative and, on occasion, appropriately admonitory: “reduce, reuse and recycle.” Their advocacy resulted in a number of significant initiatives within the school.

Junior School students singing in the Cohen Amphitheatre.

Upper School, created lesson plans for Junior School students in Grade 1 to Grade 6 that took them outside to explore the wonders of nature in “their own backyard.”

Integrating The Burke Brook into Junior School Science Presentation by Andrea Loyola, former teacher

Two years later, the “outdoor learning environment” at the Junior School was created to enrich teaching and learning and foster creative play.

Havergal College Natural Playscape Earthartist

Late that year, Havergal also delighted in the completion of the Cohen Amphitheatre, an outdoor classroom space available to the whole school. Havergal’s grounds are clearly grounds for celebration.

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