This year’s Polar Bear Day at Trinity College School was held on Thursday, March 11th, in conjunction with March Madness, four weeks of fun initiatives around the School. Hosted by Trinity Environmental Action Club, the day has become a chance to share messages about climate change and the small acts each of us can do to step up for the environment. The goal is to give all of the inhabitants of this planet, including polar bears like our beloved mascot Trina, a fighting chance against the damage being done by humans to the environment.

TEAC leaders Karina Lee and Jade Barnard led a cast of students in a special video that included some simple steps we can do for our planet, such as turning off taps to reduce water waste, using refillable water bottles, shopping sustainably (e.g. by buying thrift clothing), recycling right, using LED lightbulbs and more. These messages tied in with TEAC’s initiatives throughout the year, such as the “clean plate challenge” to reduce food waste, reminders to use reusable shopping bags and ditch the plastic, and tree planting days to both beautify campus and reduce carbon dioxide in the air.

Click here to view the video!

As part of Polar Bear Day, a “ski lodge” Themed Thursday invited students and staff to wear warm sweaters as the heat around campus was turned down by 3 degrees to conserve energy. Also, a Kahoot eco-knowledge quiz was held during lunchtime for Langmuir Cup house challenge points, allowing our online learners to get in on the day’s fun.

TEAC leader Jade Barnard explains the importance of Polar Bear Day in raising awareness about our environmental actions: “Our energy use affects the lives of polar bears as they are at a risk for loss of habit and access to prey. By burning fossil fuels for energy, we create carbon dioxide, which accelerates global warming, thus melting ice that polar bears rely on. Climate change affects all systems on Earth.”

Thank you to all of the TEAC members for their ongoing efforts to help educate, enlighten and inspire us to be better citizens of the planet we call home.