Students and teachers in elementary schools across the district will be turning off the lights and lowering the thermostat as they vie to be Energy Cup champions.
The sixth annual contest runs from April 6 to 30 and will see schools compete against each other to cut down electricity consumption, reduce their waste footprint, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
“I think it is a really easy way for kids to get involved in the sustainability conversation,” said Derek Oppedisano, SD42’s manager of facilities planning, who is overseeing the 2021 challenge. “It gives them the building blocks to understand ways to think about sustainability.”
The month-long contest is broken up into four themes.
In the first week, classes will look at lowering electricity consumption, with students and teachers encouraged to turn off the lights or hold a class session outside.
Emissions are the focus in week two, where classes and staff will try and reduce their consumption by walking or biking to work.
Students will learn sustainability as they compete to reduce waste, cut down electricity consumption, and limit greenhouse gas emissions during the Energy Cup challenge this month.
In week three, the discussion is focused on ways of reducing waste, with the main goal of trying to get students and staff to bring zero waste lunches to school.
In the final week, students and teachers will share what they have learned through social media and virtual presentations.
“That is the chance for the kids to bring the conversation home,” Oppedisano added. “We want to teach kids the little things they can do that can ultimately have a big impact.”
The toolkit and weekly tracking sheets will be provided to participating classes and awards and prizes will be handed out each week.
Schools looking to participate in the Energy Cup can sign up now. Email Derek_Oppedisano@sd42.ca to find out more information and to receive a tracking toolkit.
• What are you doing to conserve energy? Share your ideas under the hashtag #sd42EnergyCup.