Death to the Concrete Playground:
Eco-Kids Fight Back!

By Karishma Gabriel, TG Co-op Student

Problem: Dry, drab school yard. Mission: Beautify, beautify, beautify! Solution:The Eco-Kids Club at Broadacres Elementary School in Etobicoke a group of motivated and environmentally conscious kids, grades one through five, who diligently aim to bring nature wherever they go.

The Eco-Kids Club is sponsored by Ontario Hydro, and is actually divided into two clubs with 35 members each. The Club is about four years old and encourages children to get involved in their environment.

Teacher Lynn Lewis is the Club's moderator: "The kids do a great deal to improve their surroundings. The Club is involved in tree planting and planning and laying gardens."

The Broadacres' students have also designed and constructed an arbour and a courtyard garden. They've planted herbs, have their own toad pond and take care and maintain $5000.00 worth of plants, donated by the Etobicoke Parks Department.

What do the Eco-Kids have to say? Why do they think it's imperative to protect our planet? Listen up!

According to ten year old Danika Kowpak, "I want to be able to enjoy fresh air and clean water, birds and trees and I want my children to be able to enjoy them as well. If we clean the air and the water, maybe people will suffer from fewer illnesses and allergies.

Presently, the Club is involved in a restoration project to plant trees in an empty lot. They are also using their creative skills to design a maze of paths for the area.

The Eco-Kids are 100% involved in all of their projects from the initial brainstorming to the designing to the final actual laying down of the gardens, ponds or paths. The kids are there each step of the way.

The Eco-Kids Club is dedicated to giving Broadacres' students the opportunity to learn about the environment and develop methods to preserve and protect what we have now and prevent further ecological damage.

Take the advice of this ten year-old Eco-Kid, Kenneth Lee:
"We have choices, good choices and bad choices that can lead to different consequences. We have to watch our own attitudes towards the environment and we have limited use of material, so we have to watch the amount we use."