This initiative reached over 1,500 students across Canada, inspiring not only a love of reading, but a love for our planet. To learn more about the Read for the Planet initiative, and why it’s important to support the next generation of changemakers, take a look at our visit to Cedarwood Public School. From milk bag weaving to lights out lunches, these students are taking their learnings from the classroom, and making change in their community! ​

About Cedarwood Public School ​

As a Certified Eco-School, and Read for the Planet participant, Cedarwood students (of all ages) are setting an example of what it means to be a young changemaker. Grade 8 sisters, Season and Vivian, are two of the changemakers leading Cedarwood’s Act Green team – a group of dedicated students responsible for carrying out the school’s environmental initiatives. Whether it’s encouraging students to upcycle their plastic milk bags, or checking each classroom to ensure proper recycling etiquette, these students show how small daily actions can contribute to big change. ​

Why did we create Read for the Planet? ​

As we continuously evolve how we support students and educators, we conduct regular monitoring and evaluation of the programs we run. One recent survey reported that 83% of our educator community indicated a need for more environmental literacy resources and support. These findings are further supported by a national study conducted by Lakehead University in partnership with Learning for a Sustainable Future, which cited that only 32% of educators across Canada feel they have the knowledge and skills to teach about climate change. The study indicated not only a need to educate students, but to inspire students to take action, with 46% of students reporting that they understand that human-caused climate change is happening, but do not believe that human efforts will be effective in mitigation. ​

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As part of their sustainability journey, Indigo sets goals each year to create impact within their products and operations. This year, Indigo’s sustainability team formed a new partnership with our foundation to expand their sustainability journey to reach our community. By leveraging Indigo’s platform as a leader in sustainability and Indigo Love of Reading’s expertise in literacy and children’s programming we created “Read for the Planet” and launched this initiative across Canada. ​

Continuing to support young changemakers​

Thanks to our incredible partners at Lomi, each Read for the Planet partner school will be receiving a free Lomi Composter to help put their learnings into action. With these new composters, students will be able to see their lunch and snack waste turned into plant food for their school or community garden. We are so grateful to our friends at Lomi for making it easier for students across Canada to care for the planet! 

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The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is committed to advancing reconciliation within all the programs and partnerships we facilitate. While the books we provide help achieve this goal, many of the schools, parents and even students we work with reach out regularly for support in selecting Indigenous texts that will support them in their own goals of promoting reconciliation, education, and cultural reclamation. It is for this reason that we sought out partnerships with Native Child and Family Services of Toronto as well as the artist Jordan Stranger to create a resource guide for students and educators that highlights 50 book titles for children and youth.

These books are just a starting point – and do not represent a comprehensive curriculum nor do they reflect all backgrounds, perspectives, or worldviews. Nevertheless, they were carefully and thoughtfully selected with the goal of supporting young people, parents and educators in building knowledge and understanding. We encourage anyone with recommendations of new titles that they would like to see added to email us at loveofreading@indigo.ca so we can continue to update and revise this list in the year(s) to come.   

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation’s partnership with Native Child and Family Services of Toronto

Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST) first partnered with the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation in Spring 2020 as a recipient of the foundation’s Community Response Fund, created as a $1M initiative to help keep kids reading in high-needs communities amidst the nationwide closure of schools and public libraries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through subsequent summer reading program initiatives with the foundation in 2021-22 , NCFST selected and acquired books written by Indigenous authors and illustrators to help meet the needs and requests of their community members who desired culturally relevant books that support various teachings, self-esteem, and have characters that are representative of their families and are relatable to their everyday lives. Through this three-year partnership, over 3,000 children and families throughout the NCFST network in the Greater Toronto Area have been provided with over 4,000 books to read and enjoy in the home.

After years of damage to our ways of life and having our stories and practices stopped from being passed down generations through story-telling, the funding that allows us to continuously find new ways to pass down our stories is fundamental to the well being of our children, youth and their families and the continuous progress of the Culture as a whole.”

A quote from a NCFST parent on the impact of these books on their community

In 2021, our foundation supported 20 schools across Canada by gifting these books along with others to underserved elementary schools with the goal of promoting a love of reading and a love for the environment. After rifling through the new books, one student in Winnipeg, Manitoba immediately led their class in a community clean up, while a group of students in Hamilton, Ontario began to question why so many students are driven to school when they live so close. This led to the development of the “Walking Bus” an initiative that had available staff meet in the neighborhood to walk students to school every morning. 

While inspiring action is just one benefit of environmental literacy, we also saw students engage with these books for the benefits to their mental health. One student from Toronto had a strong connection with the book “Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature” and took it out of the library four weeks in a row! When asked about why this book was so special, she described the way it made her feel calm. 

To celebrate these students, our foundation will be gifting each of these schools an additional $250 for books this Earth Month! Tackling climate change won’t happen overnight but we believe that by educating young Canadians, we have the power to spark individual action and collective change.

Let’s Talk Science – a leading partner in Canadian education – is a national charitable organization committed to inspiring and empowering children and youth of all ages in Canada to develop the skills they need to participate and thrive in an ever-changing world.