Destination Conservation
Environmental change, one classroom at a time
By Deb Calderon
It's ten o'clock on a school morning. Groups of students from schools all over Powell River are running up and down the gym at Grief Point Elementary being "light energy" while others represent gases in the earth's atmosphere. Parents, teachers, principals and even custodians cheer them on; some even get in on the game themselves. What looks like a district-wide sports day is actually a hands-on Destination Conservation workshop, an environmental conservation program for schools.
Destination Conservation (DC) is a program of the Pacific Resource Conservation Society, a BC non-profit dedicated to helping individuals and communities reduce their environmental impacts through awareness and lifestyle change. DC is their flagship program and is in the middle of its first of three years in the Powell River school district. This year they will explore energy, next year water, and in year three consumption habits and waste reduction.
What is magical about this program is it isn't just for the kids; DC involves parents, teachers, administrators and custodians on every school team. This helps the information reach all levels throughout the school and back into the community. The focus of the program is making changes in the schools, both physical and behavioural. This year the groups are focusing on energy: where it comes from, how it is used, how we waste it and how we can conserve it.
One of the schools in the DC program is Henderson Elementary. Their team consists of teacher Janice Taylor, principal Jamie Burt, nine students, a parent and the custodian. This year they launched an energy-saving program called Lights Out Lunch. The team has come up with slogans and signs to remind students and staff to conserve energy by turning out the lights; particularly after lunch. They even have mascots: an elephant, an electric eel and a manatee, to get their message across.
The school has noticed a real difference in electricity use this year and how often lights are turned out. "I went along in the beginning and thought it was just a single meeting," says Janice, "but it was a much bigger program than I thought. We came away from the DC get together with lots of new ideas."
Over the three years, you start to see real change in the schools. During the program the facilities manager with the help of Pacific Resource will keep track of how much energy is being saved at each school. At the end of each year, a portion of the dollar savings will go back to the schools to help them with further conservation projects. The savings are announced at the year-end during the Green Gala.
"The celebration is really fun," says Darla Simpson of Pacific Resource. "Students create art projects, do skits, write songs or even make videos about what they have been doing all year." The year-end is a chance for school teams to reflect on everything they have accomplished and get some ideas on what they might want to try for next year. The administration also gets to see how hard students are working to make their district more environmentally friendly.
In its 20-plus-year history DC has seen big changes made in schools. It began by encouraging recycling in the schools and now sees such big projects as the installation of wind turbines and solar hot water. "It's amazing how far schools have come in terms of adopting efficient energy and water technologies, and now looking at how people's attitudes and behaviours can affect how much energy a building uses or water it consumes," says Simpson.
"The School District chose to be involved with the Destination Conservation Initiative because it is a program that not only reduces energy consumption and our eco-footprint but also, perhaps more importantly, celebrates positive change and school collaboration," says Karin Westland, Sustainability Coordinator for School District 47.
What students learn to put into practice today in their classrooms they can put into practice in their lives. Students tell their parents about what they have learned and can help make informed choices about how they live. Ultimately these schools will contribute to improving environmental literacy in Powell River and reducing our environmental impact; just as the DC tag line says: "A better planet, one classroom at a time."
GREEN GIRL: Amelia Vincent, a Grade 5 student at Henderson School
is one of many students taking part in Destination Conservation.
