Keeper of the Environment – Barnet Book Award

By Fenella Temmerman

There are nights when I go to bed conscious that my life has been touched by a particularly generous portion of hope and gratitude... and this was one of them.

It was nearing the end of the school year at Montrose School and, as part of the Creation Care committee, I had been asked to present the “Keeper of the Environment - 2015 Book Award”.

Each year a student is recognized for their significant contribution to the environment and a book is given to the library in their name. This is part of the legacy of the relationship between our previous parish priest Phil Barnett and Montrose School.

So initially I found myself amongst the many rows of students. First in the afternoon’s program was a time to remember the caretaker of the school who had recently died; each class gave a story of their memory of this man. It soon became clear he was much loved and cherished, his caretaking going way beyond bricks and mortar. Perhaps coming face to face with death for the first time for many of these students, I found myself thinking it was a very meaningful and beautiful way to do it.

Then came the time for the Keeper of the Environment award. We first remembered the many projects in which students had been involved over the year– Philup the Jar, Garbage Collection Club, Composting group, individual door holders and friendly greeters, playground equipment helpers and the Creation of Hope project. I was inspired to discover all the creative ideas that had actually been happening - all ideas to make this planet a better place.

The recipient of the award this year was not actually an individual, but a classroom full of “difference makers”. The students of this classroom had been learning about the effects that the shrinking of the polar ice cap, due to climate change, was having on the life of both people and animals in the arctic region. They were learning about the link between sea ice and polar bears.

These students were determined to do something about this problem, to take it outside the classroom. Having learned that scientists need more funding to continue their research into the shrinking of the ice cap, these young Montrosians decided to have a bake sale in support of science. This also meant motivating their parents to help with the baking and consequently educating other Montrosians about the need to support the scientists to help the polar bears.

And so it was Room 124 who received the award because they had decided to take action: they had raised awareness and inspired the school and, in so doing, made a difference.

Consequently, a beautiful book entitled Planet Arctic is now part of the school library in honor of Room 124, to be browsed through, read and reread over years.

So it was that night that I became conscious there were many “difference makers” needed to make this story happen, and that is what gives me the hope and gratitude.