November 3, 2008

PROVINCE ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $120,000 FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROJECTS IN MANITOBA SCHOOLS


Schools across the province will offer activities for students to highlight links between the environment and health with a new provincial investment of more than $120,000, Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross announced today.

“From learning about reducing greenhouse gas emissions to conserving water, schools are helping our kids better understand how environmental issues relate to our individual health,” Irvin-Ross said. “We’re proud to provide new support to schools to help Manitoba students become more environmentally aware.”

There are two different grants available to schools to encourage a better understanding of the environment and how it affects human health, the minister noted.

“By making physical education a part of the high-school curriculum, schools and school divisions adopting smoking ban policies on all school property and banning trans fats in schools, we’re creating opportunities for students to make healthy choices that will serve them throughout their lives,” said Education, Citizenship and Youth Minister Peter Bjornson. “Now we’re strengthening our commitment to healthy schools by encouraging students to explore relationship between the environment and their health.”

Through the province’s Healthy Schools initiative, participating schools will receive $100 plus
35 cents per student to provide activities that promote awareness about the environment and how it can affect people’s heath.

Activities can touch on a wide range of environmental issues and could include such events as:
· organizing a bike safety course to help kids understand sustainable transportation options;
· encouraging litterless lunches to promote waste reduction; and
· planning environmental awareness campaigns to help educate parents, businesses and the community about environmental issues.

Applications are available online at www.gov.mb.ca/healthyschools/campaigns/envirohealth.html and the deadline to apply is Nov. 14.

Healthy Schools is a partnership between Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth and Healthy Child Manitoba. Since 2002, Healthy Schools has initiated
10 campaigns with topics such as nutrition, safety, physical activity and mental health.

With each campaign, schools have an opportunity to highlight the importance and increase awareness of various health topics. More than 64 per cent of Manitoba schools participated in the previous Healthy Schools campaign, which focused on healthy relationships.

The ministers noted that an additional 15 grants of up to $2,000 each are available to schools through the Education for Sustainable Development grants initiative. Deadline for applications is Feb. 13. More information about Education for Sustainable Development initiatives in Manitoba and application forms are available online at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/esd.

The Education for Sustainable Development grants are provided as a result of an ongoing partnership between the provincial government and Manitoba Hydro. Since the grants were first awarded in 2006, a total of 33 projects have been funded.

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth also distributes Education for Sustainable Development grants to school divisions. Divisions receive $700 per school to support their efforts to enhance the teaching and learning of sustainable development principles and practices in schools.

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