While our Junior School students may be the youngest on campus, there are regular glimpses of the burgeoning leaders they are in our community. Such is the case with Grade 6 student
Rowan Francis, who was inspired by his sustainable development explorations in
Mr. LePoidevin’s Social Studies class. He researched and introduced the green benefits of adopting the search engine
Ecosia. Ecosia uses 80% of its profits from selling advertising to fund tree planting and other reforestation initiatives where they globally are needed most. First, he presented to the Junior School the benefits of making Ecosia our default search engine and, this week, he pitched the idea at the Senior School Assembly. Rowan’s passion to make a meaningful environmental difference was well received. He had done his homework and clearly presented the facts:
- Every 45 searches plants a tree.
- Ecosia searches actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
- Over 120 million trees have been strategically planted around the globe and funding is provided in Africa to stop desertification.
- Ecosia’s servers run on 100% renewable solar energy.
While Mr. LePoidevin initially wondered if the platform seemed too good to be true, Ecosia’s transparent monthly financial reports and privacy standards convinced him otherwise. Rowan is on to something good, and his initiative is gaining momentum. Students and staff are buying in, and I commend Rowan on his efforts to bring this to our attention so together we can make an even greater environmental difference.