Understanding how your school's activities affect the environment in any way is important. Once you understand how your activities affect Climate Change, you can develop a motto that will help guide you.

Can you list the ways your school affects Climate Change? How do the: products that you buy affect the Ozone Layer? activities that you do affect Greenhouse Emission? services that the school uses affect SMOG?

If this is tough to figure out, draw a relationships diagram - chart the flow of the product, process or service. This is called a Flow Chart because it tracks the process. If you need help with this ask: a parent or teacher to help you draw a Flow Chart. Not available? go to the library and look up a book on quality mangement tools. ask a local manufactuer or design engineer to come to class and explain it (involve them in the investigation of Climate Change - you may both learn something new!)

How does what you do impact on Climate Change?

Let's look at one thing - Getting to School. Using the activity symbol we gave you first draw what steps you go through. Then find out how each step can cause an impact on Climate Change. Use the arrows here. Then draw with another arrow what effect the cause has.

Significant Student, Teacher and Parent Concerns Which aspects of Climate Change concern your friends, teachers and parents the most? Let's do a little survey! Ask three other students, teachers and parents what the most significant challenges surrounding Climate Change they think the school needs to focus on. Show them your cause and effect diagram. Record their answers here. Student #1 Student #2 Student #3 Teacher #1 Teacher #2 Teacher #3 Parent #1 Parent #2 Parent #3 The best way to determine whether you are reducing your Climate Change impacts is to determine your CO2 emissions. Check out the section on Ecological Toe-Print.

Do you have a motto for how you are going to change?

In Scouts its called a Law, in Brownie's it's the Promise, in governments it can be called a declaration, in businesses its called a policy. Whatever the context, there is a word used that refers to a commitment to do something a certain way.

Writing a motto can be a really great way to build support for your Climate Change ideas. It doesn't have to be really detailed - just enough to let it be a guidepost for your own efforts and let other people understand what the overall direction your actions for Climate Change are going to take.

Write down some ideas, test them out with the rest of your class, other classes, your whole school or even your community! When you have something that really expresses what you want to do -SHARE IT!

There are 25 distinctive Canadians who came together to learn about Climate Change. What they found out convinced them to share their concerns with other Canadians. While they started with an ordinary knowledge of Climate Change, these 25 extraordinary Canadians wrote a Declaration. Who are these people and why are they unique? (Read more about this it in Section 4.)

A Cool School© Tool: Always tell 3 people and ask them to tell 3 different people, and ask them to tell 3 different people, ...

Need some ideas? The Cool School Toolkit has got some.

• Get your principal to sign a copy - it becomes your School's Pledge.
• Invite the Mayor to your School to celebrate.
• Call the press and release it as a Media Release.
• Share it with other schools in your area.
• Take it to your School Trustees.
• Email a copy to SchoolNet and the National Round Table on Environment and Economy.
• Send a copy to the Prime Minister - let him know that your school is taking action to support Canada’s efforts to meet the Kyoto Protocol. He will appreciate it.

School Tool Quiz. Imagine there are 10 people in your class? If everyone in your class shared your motto with 3 different people, and they in turn told 3 people the next day, how long before everyone in Canada would know?**

**Just over 13 days.

Start with First Things First

While this may sound a little strange, it is a good way to set priorities. You have already figured out at least one way that you have impact on Climate Change. You have also discussed these impacts with friends, teachers and your parents to understand what they believe is significant. You may want to tackle the issue that everyone believes is most significant. Sit down with you friends and figure out if you have the stuff you need to have to do this. Do you have the technology? If not, what do you need? Do you have enough people and do they know what they need to do? Does it require money? If so, is it a lot or a little? Do you need to fundraise? Get the support of a sponsor?

Having trouble thinking about one? Here's a list.

In which of the following ways does your school affect Climate Change? Choose one to work on. Students & teachers drive or bus to school. Lights are left on during recess or spare periods. Windows are opened when the air conditioning or heating is on. School yard has less than 100 trees. You use way too much paper! (This one applies to almost all schools.) Chemical fertilizers are sprayed on the school yard.

Choose one of these or think of another one. Write the one you want to work on here. Now go for it!