JXTC GENRE : DECEMBER 08 TEMPLATE

For the third consecutive year, schools throughout the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, which includes Clarington, will champion Earth Hour in their communities.

Citizens across the globe will recognize Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27. Starting at 8:30 p.m., they will turn off their lights for 60 minutes. KPR is also encouraging its students, staff, parents and community members to 'power down' their computers and electronic equipment.

Earth Hour is a global initiative of the World Wildlife Federation.

"We wholeheartedly support this important cause," says Board Chairperson Diane Lloyd. "We teach our students to be environmentally responsible, respectful of the earth, and conscious of waste reduction. As a Board, we also have reduced our environmental footprint. We buy and use green products, install energy-saving appliances and building materials, and take other steps to decrease our energy consumption."

"We believe environmental responsibility is an important value to teach all students," agrees Director of Education Rusty Hick. "Our schools have planted trees and gardens, reduced paper usage, expanded electronic communication, reminded students to turn off lights and computers when they leave a room, expanded their recycling and composting programs, and more."

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board once again urges families who participate in Earth Hour to sign onto its website. Families also will be encouraged to send the Board stories and photos of what they did at home during Earth Hour. Details will be posted March 1 on the Board’s website, www.kprschools.ca.

In 2008, the first year that KPR encouraged community participation in Earth Hour, 1,061 people registered on the Board’s website as having done so. In 2009, that number grew to 4,029 registered participants.

In each of those years, the Board’s Earth Hour publicity campaign won an award. The recognition included a Gold award from the Texas-based Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals in 2008, and a BRAVO! Award of Distinction from the Canadian Association of Communicators in Education in 2009.

Further information on Earth Hour is available at www.earthhour.org