Imagine a school with zero-waste; where every used item has a place to be disposed of and where there is no garbage whatsoever. That is the main goal of the sustainability committee. Founded by a group of teachers which includes Ms. Prieur, Mr. Lane, and Mr. Grier, they originally sought to eliminate single-use items in the staff lounge, but the group has since morphed into a team of students and teachers who have taken up the initiative of directing the school towards a greener, more sustainable future.

You may have noticed that buttercups are no longer available during lunch and have been replaced by butterballs. Although this may seem insignificant or even trivial, those buttercups were the last single-use item that was handed out during lunches. Eliminating them allowed the school to get rid of garbage bins altogether at lunches, bringing us that much closer to being zero-waste. The research necessary for the installation of project butterball was done by a group of students led by Philippe Guertin and Simon Trudeau. Moreover, there has been some discussion as to creating a meatless Monday program to limit the number of animal products consumed by the school.

Continuing in the realm of waste management, the committee installed more composting stations around the school. As well, Mr. Grier is leading a pilot program that reimagines how we dispose of our waste and he hopes to spread this new system around the school. The whole waste project is loosely based on a school in Melbourne, Australia, who has managed to become completely waste-free.

There is some concern about whether any of these changes will make a difference. To address these concerns as well as raise awareness, the group plans to create a sustainability audit on the school’s environmental impact. This will, hopefully, allow the team to figure out which areas need the most attention and to prioritize certain projects.

One of the most important aspects of the group has been to raise awareness about the growing threat of climate change and how we can combat it. Signs were put up in Coristine hall advising people on how to properly dispose of their waste. On top of that, the group organized a Greta Thunberg-style march at the beginning of the year with impassioned speeches by multiple students. The groups meet every second week in the Lucas Seminar room to discuss pressing issues concerning all of our futures and what we can do to address them. Anyone is welcome to attend.