Climate action starts where learning happens
Climate action in SD22 is local, lived, and student‑driven. Across our communities, schools are connecting learning to place, reducing our environmental impact, and empowering students to shape their future.
Empowering Students for Climate Action
In SD22, we empower students to take climate action and make a positive impact on the environment.
Climate education goes beyond understanding climate change—it helps students develop sustainable mindsets and behaviours through meaningful, place‑based learning. Even small actions matter. When students see that their efforts make a difference in their communities, they feel inspired, capable, and motivated to act.
Every classroom can be a place for climate action. These resources support teachers at all grade levels to build awareness, strengthen critical thinking, and inspire student‑led change.
Climate Action Lessons and Resources
NEW! K-3 Climate Change Education Teaching Resources
K-12 Climate Change Education Teaching Resources
Climate Action Posters (French & English)
Links and Websites
Live It Earth Net Zero Programming
In collaboration with SD22, the City of Vernon and Fortis BC, Live It Earth has proudly produced this Net Zero educational programming.
This 24-minute show features the work of staff and students in CARE and across Vernon. Additional videos include a Deep Dive on local sustainability initiatives, and Career Pathways in climate action planning (see below).
Resources are available to teachers in French and English and include creative writing challenges, reading recommendations and STEM projects.
Click Here for the Highlight Package
To access the Feature Show, please follow these directions to make a free account:
- Scan the QR Code
- Use Passcode FocusedED2023!
- Use your SD22 email address
Trailer
Deep Dive
Career Pathway
Creative Challenge
STEM Challenge
CARE (Climate Action Ripple Effect)
In May 2025, 13 teachers and more than 300 students took part in the Climate Action Ripple Effect (CARE) Expo, a community event showcasing student‑led climate action projects. Developed over several months with support from community mentors, projects spanned areas such as biodiversity, food systems, energy, waste reduction, transportation, health, and sustainable economies. Students presented initiatives designed to inform and inspire, promote sustainability and food security, and encourage lifestyles less reliant on fossil fuels.
The Expo invited the public to engage with young changemakers and highlighted the growing role of youth in climate leadership and community resilience. Highlights included the Hillview Hallway of Hope photo display, a Voices of Nature choir performance by Alexis Park students, and interactive community displays featuring local sustainability programs. Together, the event demonstrated how the CARE program empowers students to become confident, creative leaders working toward a more sustainable future.
Teachers can access CARE planning documents, timelines, and support materials here:
→ CARE Teacher Resources & Documents
Learn more about CARE at https://climateactionrippleeffect.org/
CARE Documentaries
Ms. Jacob’s Grade 11/12 Film Class at Fulton created short documentaries for their CARE projects. Click the links below to watch!
 |  |
Go By Bike
Go By Bike Week in Schools is a fun and empowering initiative that encourages students, teachers, and families to choose cycling as a healthy, eco-friendly way to get to school. This year, schools across the district are hosting celebration stations to promote and recognize students who bike, scooter, or walk to school.
Deep Dive with Live It Earth: Go By Bike!
Last spring, our SD22 Student Trustees had the opportunity to partner with Educational Company Live It Earth. They produced a video documenting the students' CARE project journey. In conjunction with the City of Vernon, the students promoted Go By Bike week and ran celebration stations at schools around the district. Their goal was to bring awareness to eco-friendly modes of transportation and to help students reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Action in Our Classrooms
Climate education offers a powerful opportunity to strengthen literacy and numeracy skills. By engaging in inquiry-based learning, students develop critical thinking abilities and learn to assess and apply their knowledge effectively. Viewing learning through a sustainability lens encourages cross-curricular connections and helps students understand that they can make a meaningful, positive impact on the environment.
Many of our schools have gardens where students actively participate in the growing and harvesting of food. They use a Farm-to-Table philosophy to demonstrate where our food comes from and the important role that gardening plays in living sustainably. It is the perfect way for students to engage in learning that is meaningful and hands-on!
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Recycling and composting are important ways to ensure that we are taking care of the environment. We are excited for these programs to grow throughout our district.
Join the Vernon Eco Educators
The Vernon Eco Educators (VEE) is a local chapter of EEPSA, and was formed in 2019 by Andrea Harwood-Jones and Suzanna Singh. VEE's mission is:
- To enable teachers to find teaching resources related to the environment and sustainability;
- To link SD22 educators with fellow teacher-experts in topics such as pollinators, gardening, composting, sustainability, grant writing, climate change, and outdoor learning;
- To increase awareness in our District of climate change and sustainability issues;
- To provide practical support and mentorship to youth who are engaged in protecting the environment.
There is a VEE representative at almost every school in the District. For more information, please email aharwood-jones@sd22.bc.ca
DRC Kits Available NOW!!
Click here to link to the DRC.
Primary (K-3)
This kit includes a number of books recommended by Adrienne Gear. These include read-aloud and picture books that help raise awareness of the importance of protecting the environment. Teaching resources are also included.
 |  |  |
Middle Years/Intermediate (4-7)
Many of the books in this kit are focused on engaging students with interesting fiction based in climate action. A number of teaching resources are also included, such as Earth Action, which use magazine style books to help spark critical thinking and inquiry learning around social justice climate topics.
 |  |  |
High School (8-12)
Books in this kit cover topics from understanding climate change to how to engage in meaningful acts of climate justice. Novels and teaching materials are included to help guide students towards meaningful activism and adopting sustainable strategies they can take into adulthood.
 |  |  |
 |
|