WWF and Loblaw school grants help green leaders grow

WWF

(TORONTO: June 1, 2012) – WWF and Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) are proud to announce 30 new recipients of WWF’s Green CommUnity School Grants Program. This round of funding awards $100,000 in grants to elementary and secondary schools across Canada, supporting student engagement in green initiatives.

The grants are made possible through a corporate donation and partial proceeds from Loblaw’s national plastic bag reduction initiative. They are designed to encourage students’ interest in environmental stewardship, as well as to provide a hands-on learning experience in sustainability and greening communities.

This round of grants will provide funding for initiatives such as:

  • Developing a field guide for Arisaig Park at H.M. MacDonald Elementary School in Maryvale, Nova Scotia
  • Creating a nature trail at Rankin School of the Narrows in Iona, Nova Scotia
  • Establishing an inquiry-science based program modelling environmental stewardship at the Waabgon Gamig First Nation School on Georgina Island, Ontario
  • Helping provide locally grown food with the “Locavore” project at Chief Sunrise Education Centre in the Katlodeche First Nation, Northwest Territories
  • Starting a “walking school bus” at Ste-Thérèse-de-l’Enfant-Jésus in St-Jérôme, Quebec
  • Reducing waste by starting a school garden at Victoria School in Kamsack, Saskatchewan
  • Creating an aquaponics project at Wellington Secondary in Nanaimo, British Columbia

Quotes
“The future of planet is not only in our hands, but in the hands of our children, so building environmental awareness and leadership from the beginning is critical. The Green CommUnity School Grants give us a chance to help foster green growth in so many schools across Canada, and encourage hundreds of students to make a difference.”
– Gerald Butts, President and CEO, WWF Canada

“Loblaw is proud to help engage the next generation of environmental leaders with support from our national plastic bag reduction initiative. Since 2007, we have reduced the number of plastic shopping bags from our stores by more than 3.8 billion.”
– Bob Chant, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Communication, Loblaw Companies Limited

About WWF’s Green CommUnity School Grants Program
The Green CommUnity School Grants Program will award grants totalling $600,000 to Canadian schools over the course of three years. Any private, public, or independent Canadian elementary or secondary school that is working on a green initiative is eligible to apply for grants up to $5,000. Find out more at www.wwf.ca/greencommunitygrants.

About WWF
WWF is creating solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature thrive. www.wwf.ca

About Loblaw Companies Limited
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada’s largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. www.loblaw.ca

For further information:
Riannon John
WWF-Canada
416-347-1894
[email protected]

Loblaw Public Relations Department
905-459-2500
[email protected]