Yellowknife's Mildred Hall School wins $25K Staples award for environmental work

Yellowknife's Mildred Hall School will receive $25,000 for new technology, becoming the first school in the Northwest Territories to win a nationwide sustainability competition.

Retailer Staples selected 10 schools from 630 entrants. Schools had to demonstrate "initiatives they had implemented to help save the planet."

Principal Katey Simmons said Mildred Hall students' community garden formed the centrepiece of their bid,complementingthe school's recycling, composting and community clean-up efforts. She said she hopes winning the award will change some perceptions of the school.

"Sometimes, being downtown, we get a little bit of a bad rep," said Simmons as students were told of their win on Monday.

"I just want everyone to know how great the kids are. It's actually their hard work that got us this money through their environmental initiatives and being respectful of the land."

In a news release explaining why Mildred Hall was selected, Staples said many of the school's students did not have easy access to technology at home.

"Currently, their main computer lab is often unusable as the computers are getting quite old," the company's statement added.