The District of Central Saanich extends heartfelt congratulations to the 138 students and their teachers who completed the Cool It! Climate Leadership Training Program this year. From January to June, students from seven classes at Bayside Middle School and Keating Elementary participated in the environmental workshop and challenge to build knowledge – and inspire action – about climate change.
- Melissa Drolet’s Grade 4 class
- Genelle Gevers’ Grade 5 class
- Kimberly Stewart’s Grade 6 class
- Rhayna Archer’s Grade 7 class
- Michael Macewan’s Grade 7 class
- Shauna White’s Grade 7 class
- Chantal Levesque’s Grade 7/8 class
Sponsored by the District, and delivered by the BC Sustainable Energy Association, the Cool It! program inspires students in Grades 4 through 7 (and their families!) to commit to energy, waste, and greenhouse gas saving actions. Alongside environmental education, the four-week challenge is designed to motivate lifelong habits that reduce personal and household carbon footprints. Some of the most popular actions this year included switching to a vegetarian diet for at least one week, learning about active transport and transit options in the community as an alternative to vehicle travel, planting vegetables and herbs, and being intentional with leftovers to avoid food waste. Together, students took an impressive 589 actions that will save 21 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) if continued for the year – equivalent to the average annual energy emissions generated from five homes!
Teachers, students, and BCSEA organizers didn’t let the various challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic stand in their way, with 70% of students in the District returning a completed climate challenge card (compared to an average program return rate of 60%). Our students joined 860 others from 40 classes across the CRD in championing climate action at home and in the classroom.
Special thanks and huge congratulations go out to Ms. Rhayna Archer and her Grade 7 class at Bayside Middle School, top performers in the District. These thoughtful and dedicated students completed a whopping 190 actions that will avoid 6.7 tCO2e – and achieved a nearly 100% challenge completion rate! Ms. Archer’s class received a package of starter seedlings and seeds donated by West Coast Seeds as a collective prize for their awesome work, and the highest performing students in each participating class were awarded gift cards to Chapters/Indigo bookstores.
Teacher Rhayna Archer, District staff member Ali Rivers, and Mayor Ryan Windsor congratulate top performing class of Grade 7 students at Bayside Middle School
Mayor Ryan Windsor visited with Mme. Drolet’s class outdoors at Keating Elementary to chat about what they learned and present them with the Orca Footprints Collection set of books, a gift from the District for their great work. The Mayor, joined by the District’s Climate Action & Natural Environment Coordinator Ali Rivers, congratulated Ms. Archer’s class with the same set of books focused on social responsibility and global citizenship – plus a surprise pizza party!
Mayor Ryan Windsor talks climate action with Mme. Drolet’s class of Grade 4 students at Keating Elementary School
Thanks to everyone involved for reminding us that climate action is collaborative, that we can take action that creates tangible change, and that it will take all of us to reach our community target of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Learn more about our new “Climate Action in the Community” series, a social media & Let’s Talk campaign that spotlights climate projects across the District. Visit LetsTalkCentralSaanich.ca/climate
