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SD46: Students make a difference in Energy Cup contest

Four Coast elementary schools hosted a friendly, interschool Energy Conservation event last week – Davis Bay, Halfmoon Bay, Langdale and Roberts Creek Elementary.
energy cup
Elementary school students recently participated in the Energy Cup conservation event to learn how they can minimize energy waste.

Four Coast elementary schools hosted a friendly, interschool Energy Conservation event last week – Davis Bay, Halfmoon Bay, Langdale and Roberts Creek Elementary. Participating schools turned down thermostats 3 Celsius for three days and minimized energy waste, turning off unnecessary lights, appliances, computer screens and other devices. 

Grade 4, 5, 6 and 7 classes at each school led a variety of school initiatives: 

1. Making posters and PA announcements reminding students to conserve. 

2. Auditing classrooms and reminding everyone to bring a sweater. 

3. Monitoring school energy use online. 

4. Hosting a lunchtime quiz or sweater contest to raise awareness. 

5. Identifying “energy inefficiencies” using energy meters.

6. Encouraging all students to do home energy audits.

Rob Collison, manager of School District No. 46 (SD46) Facilities and Transportation, supported the initiative with a goal to shift school culture. “We want to enable students and staff to save energy at schools and at home. When they step into a room and see a light on that doesn’t need to be, they turn it off – or if they find a door propped open after recess, they close it to save on heating costs.” SD46 is no stranger to energy saving. The district has dropped energy use by five per cent annually for several years through solar panels, gas boiler and window upgrades, and automated lighting systems. 

The Energy Cup contest is part of the three-week Energy Matters program that provides teachers with materials to raise student awareness and understanding on climate change, on the daily choices we can make to reduce environmental impacts of our diet, transportation, home heating and lighting choices – exploring global solutions to climate change. Developed in collaboration with community partner Heartwood Solutions Consulting, the program is in its fourth year and has reached over 2,000 students on the Coast. 

Last year’s Energy Cup saved SD46 nearly $1,000 in energy costs and reduced emissions in buildings by over half a tonne of greenhouse gases. Last week’s savings should be larger given the cool weather and additional school. The school with the largest per cent reduction this year gets named on a Carbon Offset purchase of 30 tonnes of GHGs in SD46; five per cent of the annual carbon emissions in the school district. Invested in a third party verified Gold Standard Offset, this investment reduces emissions and supports a green project that otherwise would not have happened. 

A new Energy Cup feature this year were the local community leaders who provided in-class workshops on climate change solutions across multiple sectors: Sustainable Agriculture (Ione Smith, Upland Consulting), Solar Energy (Scott Elston, APS), Drought Management (Raphael Shay, SCRD), Green Building (Ben Turner, Natural Focus Consulting) and First Nations perspectives on Sustainability and Climate Change (Candace Campo, Talaysay Tours). These presenters helped inspire student thinking about local solutions and careers that tackle climate change. 

“We are one of B.C. school district leaders on solar panel installation,” Collison said. “We are bringing in community leaders and supporting offset purchases because this is much bigger than just energy conservation. The message needs to be hopeful. We are showing that while we walk the walk, we invite students and staff to join in because there’s still lots we need to do.”