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An example of funded opportunities for students, the Youth Climate Action Grants:

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An example of funded opportunities for students, the Youth Climate Action Grants:

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The Youth Climate Action Grants provides funding to support Toronto District School Board (TDSB) student-led projects, activities and events that directly or indirectly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Grants of up to $1,000 are available for each eligible project.

The purpose of the grants is to:

help TDSB students take and/or advocate for climate action in their schools and communities

educate students, families and/or community members about actions they can take to reduce GHG emissions

help accelerate the reduction of community-wide GHG emissions in Toronto to net zero by 2040, in support of the City’s TransformTO Net Zero climate action strategy

This funding initiative is a partnership between TransformTO and TDSB . In the coming years, we hope to include other Toronto school boards.

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The next grant funding round will open for applications on September 18, 2023.

The Youth Climate Action Grants provides funding to support Toronto District School Board (TDSB) student-led projects, activities and events that directly or indirectly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Grants of up to $1,000 are available for each eligible project.

The purpose of the grants is to:

help TDSB students take and/or advocate for climate action in their schools and communities

educate students, families and/or community members about actions they can take to reduce GHG emissions

help accelerate the reduction of community-wide GHG emissions in Toronto to net zero by 2040, in support of the City's TransformTO Net Zero climate action strategy

This funding initiative is a partnership between TransformTO and TDSB. In the coming years, we hope to include other Toronto school boards.

Student-led groups consisting of two or more TDSB students from grades JK to 12 are eligible to apply. A TDSB staff member must serve as the project supervisor.

Student-led group can include:

classroom projects

school clubs and teams

student councils

student groups that partner with parent councils

student-teacher collaborations

Ineligible applicants include:

individual students

teachers (without student collaboration)

multiple groups from the same classroom

principals and vice-principals

TDSB Facility Services, Administration and Trustees

for-profit businesses

grant making organizations

TDSB approved vendors

community organizations

registered charitable organizations and/or non-profit environmental organizations

school groups allied with political parties

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the TDSB Youth Climate Action Guide, which provides important information on how to develop an eligible climate action project.

Proposed projects must:

be created and delivered by TDSB students;

satisfy the objectives of the grant program:

directly contribute to GHG emissions reduction in Toronto.

educate students, families and/or community members about actions they can take to reduce GHG emissions.

take place only in the city of Toronto;

satisfy TDSB rules, including approved educational programming partners; and

have all necessary TDSB approvals and permission from the school Principal.

Examples of eligible projects include:

workshops, demonstrations and group activities provided by TDSB approved environmental partners

education campaigns (e.g., waste reduction , energy conservation, active transportation)

repair events (e.g., bikes, clothing, electronics)

exchange or swap events (e.g., clothing, books, toys, sports equipment)

activities that enhance the existing school curriculum

educational videos

guest speakers

educational field trips specific to the grant objectives (must be a shared cost)

virtual learning

community climate events

social media campaigns

sustainable transportation events (e.g., bike rodeos, idle-free vehicle blitz)

school ground revitalizations (e.g., food gardens, outdoor classrooms).

school ground revitalization projects must first undergo a Viability Review by the TDSB. We will not consider any applications for school ground projects or activities that do not have TDSB approval.

pollinator garden projects are not eligible, please contact the City's PollinateTO Grants.

Examples of eligible costs include:

project supplies (e.g., paper, pens, poster boards, markers, paint)

raw materials (e.g., wood, soil, screws)

workshop expenses (e.g., speaker fees, training supplies)

space rental or permit fees for event/activity space

project communications (e.g., flyers, posters, printing)

rentals or small equipment purchases

The following project costs are also eligible but cannot exceed 25 per cent of your total grant request:

skilled labour (e.g., hiring a contractor to build a garden box);

professional consultant fees (e.g., design, translation, communications);

volunteer and participant expenses (e.g., food, transit, personal protective equipment); and

honouraria for voluntary services (e.g., guest speakers or ceremonial duties).

For example, if your grant request is $1,000, the maximum you can request for skilled labour is $250 ($1,000 x 0.25 = $250).

The following items cannot be funded:

educational programming (e.g., workshops, seminars, presentations) provided by organizations that have not been approved by the TDSB. Please review the TDSB's list of approved partners.

paid advertising campaigns in newspapers, etc.

beautification, maintenance or landscaping repairs (e.g., ornamental gardens, pathways, etc.)

costs associated with the regular operation of your group, such as computer equipment, software, phones, internet, accounting services, insurance, etc.

deliverables that will result in a significant increase in school or TDSB operating or capital costs (e.g., air conditioners, HEPA air filters or HVAC-related items)

use of City grant funds to provide grants, rebates and/or incentives to other parties

disposable items (e.g., single-use plastics, bottled water)

fees and expenses for memberships, conferences, travel, personal vehicle use and parking

catering, alcohol or cannabis

fundraising drives

thank you gifts

activities related to religious and/or political purposes

playgrounds, furnishings, fencing, armour stone, water-bottle refilling stations

pollinator gardens (e.g. plants, garden materials and supplies). Please see PollinateTO Grants for eligibility.

pre-existing school projects and/or events (e.g., annual fun fairs)

projects already approved for funding, including those funded by other City of Toronto grant programs

promotional items that could contribute to waste (e.g., swag, buttons)

rental/purchase of combustion engine vehicles or any other gas-powered equipment (e.g., generators), and gasoline or any other fuels

research or scientific studies

routine maintenance, emergency repairs or major capital improvements (e.g., cricket pitches, artificial turf, solar installations, playground renovations)

salaries, hourly wages and income-generating activities for staff/group members

tree or shrub planting

litter cleanup events

outdoor composting projects

Before You Apply - Contact Us!

Students are encouraged to submit their own applications with support and guidance from their TDSB project supervisor.

How to Apply

1. Read the Application Guide. It provides a detailed overview of the grant program and tips for completing the application form.

2. Apply through the online application form or by email. If you don't have adequate access to the internet or technology, we will accept paper application forms. To apply by mail, please .

3. Your application must be received on or before the deadline.

Apply Online

The online application form is the preferred method of submission. To preview all the questions before you begin your online application, download the Application Form. You can use this document to help prepare, organize, and draft your responses.
Apply online here!
Apply by Email

Applications will also be accepted by email. Download the Application Form and send your completed application as a MS Word document to climateactiongrants@toronto.ca. Scanned copies and PDF versions will not be accepted.
Important:

Applications submitted online will receive an immediate acknowledgment.

Applications submitted by email will receive an acknowledgment by email within five days of its receipt, sent to the email addresses provided in your application.

Please complete the application in full. We will not process incomplete applications.

Submit only one application per group or classroom. If more than one project is submitted by the same group or classroom, the City will review the submission that was received first.

There is no limit to the number of grant applications that can be submitted from a school as long as the applications are from different groups or classrooms.

You cannot receive more than one City of Toronto grant for the same project.

Applications will undergo a technical review by City staff.

Eligible applications will then be assessed by a Grant Review Committee comprised of staff from the City's Environment and Climate Division and TDSB

The Review Committee may ask for additional information to assist in the review, assessment and monitoring of your application.

Successful grant recipients will be notified of the approved grant funding amounts.

Applicants that accept the funding offer will enter into an agreement with the TDSB. Additional information about the funding award process and the agreement will be provided at that time.

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The next grant funding round will open for applications on September 18, 2023. The Youth Climate Action Grants provides funding to support Toronto District School Board (TDSB) student-led projects, activities and events that directly or indirectly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Grants of up to $1,000 are available for each eligible project.

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Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things―from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen―provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.

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FINALIST FOR THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD
ONE OF CBC'S BEST CANADIAN NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2022

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https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/647141/generation-dread-by-britt-wray/9780735280724

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You might think it's an impossible task: secure a safe future for life on Earth, at a scale and speed never seen, against all the odds. There is hope—but only if we listen to the science before it's too late.

In The Climate Book, Greta Thunberg has gathered the wisdom of over one hundred experts—geophysicists, oceanographers and meteorologists; engineers, economists and mathematicians; historians, philosophers and Indigenous leaders—to equip us all with the knowledge we need to combat climate disaster. Throughout, illuminating and often shocking grayscale charts, graphs, diagrams, photographs, and illustrations underscore their research and their arguments. Alongside them, she shares her own stories of demonstrating and uncovering greenwashing around the world, revealing how much we have been kept in the dark. This is one of our biggest challenges, she shows, but also our greatest source of hope. Once we are given the full picture, how can we not act? And if a schoolchild's strike could ignite a global protest, what could we do collectively if we tried?

We are alive at the most decisive time in the history of humanity. Together, we can do the seemingly impossible. But it has to be us, and it has to be now.

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Increasingly politicians, activists, media figures, and the public at large agree that climate change is an urgent problem. Yet that sense of urgency rarely translates into serious remedies. If we believe the climate crisis is real, why is it so difficult to change our behavior and our consumer tendencies?

Minding the Climate investigates this problem in the neuroscience of decision-making. In particular, Ann-Christine Duhaime, MD, points to the evolution of the human brain during eons of resource scarcity. Understandably, the brain adapted to prioritize short-term survival over more uncertain long-term outcomes. But the resulting behavioral architecture is poorly suited to the present, when scarcity is a lesser concern and slow-moving, novel challenges like environmental issues present the greatest danger. Duhaime details how even our acknowledged best interests are thwarted by the brain’s reward system: if a behavior isn’t perceived as immediately beneficial, we probably won’t do it―never mind that we “know” we should. This is what happens when we lament climate change while indulging the short-term consumer satisfactions that ensure the disaster will continue.

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This book examines the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and how it can provide models for a time-tested form of sustainability needed in the world today. The essays, written by a team of scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, explore TEK through compelling cases of environmental sustainability from multiple tribal and geographic locations in North America and beyond. Addressing the philosophical issues concerning indigenous and ecological knowledge production and maintenance, they focus on how environmental values and ethics are applied to the uses of land.Grounded in an understanding of the profound relationship between biological and cultural diversity, this book defines, interrogates, and problematizes, the many definitions of traditional ecological knowledge and sustainability. It includes a holistic and broad disciplinary approach to sustainability, including language, art, and ceremony, as critical ways to maintain healthy human-environment relations.

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In this wholly original blend of science, story, myth, and memoir, Haupt draws us into the secret world of the wild creatures that dwell among us in our urban neighborhoods, whether we are aware of them or not. With beautiful illustrations and practical sidebars on everything from animal tracking to opossum removal, The Urban Bestiary is a lyrical book that awakens wonder, delight, and respect for the urban wild, and our place within it.

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British-Bangladeshi birder, environmentalist and activist Mya-Rose Craig is an international force. In her moving memoir, Birdgirl, she chronicles her mother’s struggle with mental illness, and shares her passion for social justice and fierce dedication to preserving our planet.

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As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

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