November 16, 2023
Statement from the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education Chair Nicole Duncan regarding the Greater Victoria School District’s Climate Action Plan
VICTORIA, BC – On September 25, 2023, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education passed a motion to approve the Greater Victoria Climate Action Plan.
After much consultation with our learning community, the Board of Education unanimously passed its first Climate Action Plan (“CAP”).
“Our learning community came together in the spirit of collaboration to prepare a CAP that will guide our sustainability work and environmental stewardship,” said Board Chair Nicole Duncan. “The CAP demonstrates our shared commitment to urgently take meaningful steps to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate. Our CAP aims to align both our human and financial resources in a manner that honours our connection to the earth and acknowledges our core responsibility to care for all living things.”
The Climate Action Plan identifies a strategic plan involving five core pillars:
1) Education, Engagement, and Leadership;
2) Lands and Water Stewardship;
3) Waste Reduction;
4) Energy Management; and
5) Sustainable Transportation.
Each of the five pillars will encompass the main goal areas of the Greater Victoria School District’s Strategic Plan. These Strategic Plan goals include creating a learning environment that is inclusive and culturally responsive to support all learners and Indigenous learners’ personal and academic success and to support all learners’ physical and mental well-being.
Within each of the five core pillars, the CAP identifies key objectives and actions that will be taken to accomplish these objectives, providing a clear direction on how to achieve each climate action pillar.
The Greater Victoria School district lies within the territories of the Lekwungen peoples, known today as Esquimalt and Songhees Nations who have been here since time immemorial and their history in this area is long and rich.
The District recognizes the Lekwungen people as the traditional custodians of the land in which the School District is located. The District respectfully acknowledges the First Nations’ long history of land stewardship and knowledge of the land and will look for opportunities to learn from and collaborate with the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations to help us improve our District’s resilience to a changing climate.
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