Grade 4 Departure Bay class earns top marks in climate leadership program
City-funded climate education program is seeing success as it inspires sustainability through action-based classroom challenges.
NEWS RELEASE - Distributed March 18, 2024 8:00 AM
Summary
As sponsors of the BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA) and its Cool It! Climate Leadership Training program, the City is pleased to see some very positive results at the end of its second term. This includes a remarkable 241 sustainable actions made by students of Ms. Melissa Kristiansen's grade 4 Departure Bay Elementary School class, collective winners of the challenge for the 2023 Fall term.
The City of Nanaimo began sponsoring the BCSEA's Cool It! Climate Leadership Training program for School District 68's students in March 2022. The Cool It! program is a climate education workshop and contest for students in grades 4 and 5, as well as secondary school classes. Students participate in interactive workshops and games to support discussion and build on knowledge of climate change. Following the workshop, students bring that knowledge home and work on a four-week Cool It! challenge that encourages families to make important changes to their energy consumption. Some of the actions students are encouraged to complete include: calculating their household water consumption, taking their bike or public transit instead of driving, building a “bee bath”, eating leftovers at least 3 times, researching and learning about the City of Nanaimo's purpose in declaring a climate emergency, writing a climate reflection and suggesting actions that they (and the City) can take to reduce climate change and protect our environment.
The program wrapped up its second-ever term in December and the program's third semester is now under way. Within the 2023 Fall term, 14 elementary and 10 high school classes participated in the Cool It! program. Overall, the Cool It! program was delivered to 30 classes (20 elementary and 10 high school) and reached 634 students (424 elementary and 210 high school). Students collectively completed 4,143 actions focused on climate change and sustainability.
For their great achievement, Ms. Kristiansen's grade 4 class was awarded a pizza lunch and a visit from Mayor Leonard Krog.
Link to Strategic Plan: Carrying on education and outreach activities to help residents learn about climate impacts and climate adaptation measures is recognized as an ongoing action within the City’s Integrated Action Plan.
Key Points
- For the 2023 fall semester, Ms. Melissa Kristiansen's grade 4 class at Departure Bay Elementary won BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA) and its Cool It! Climate Leadership Training challenge after completing 241 actions.
- Cool It! Is a climate education program and contest for students run by the BC Energy Association and funded by the City of Nanaimo. Students participate in classroom workshops and discussions on climate change, and then are challenged to complete sustainable, climate-focused actions at home. The classroom that completes the most challenges wins the Cool It! challenge.
Quotes
Quick Facts
- Through energy conservation and emissions-saving actions at home, along with research and enquiry activities, these student actions may result in an annual saving of a total of 113.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) if they maintain their actions for one year.
Images
Contact:
Print News Release
-
Parks, Rec & Culture
- Recreation Facilities & Schedules
- Parks & Trails
- Activity Guide
- Events
- Register for a Program
- Drop-In Schedules
- Public Art
- Culture
- Poetry
-
City Services
- Garbage & Recycling
-
Home & Property
- Property Taxes
- User Rates
- Change Your Address
- Damage/Injury Claims
- City Charges and Your Property Title
- Pre-Authorized Withdrawals - Terms & Conditions
- Pre-Authorized Withdrawals (PAWS)
- Water & Sewage
- Emergency Services
- Online Services
- Cemetery Services
- City Services Directory
-
Property & Development
- Urban Forestry
-
Building Permits
- Online Building Permit Application
- Building Permit Revision
-
Application for a Residential Building Permit
- Access (driveway) Permit
- Accessory Building Permit
- Alteration Permit
- Building Envelope Repair
- Carriage House
- Demolition Permit
- Fence or Retaining Wall Permit
- Geotechnical Reports
- Locate Permit
- New Construction Permit
- Plumbing or Services Permit
- Secondary Suite Permit
- Special Inspection Permit
- Swimming Pool Permit
- Woodstove Installation Info
- Green Home Initiatives
-
Apply for a Commercial Building Permit
- Access (driveway) Permit
- Commercial Alteration Permit
- Building Envelope Repair Permit
- Demolition Permit
- Fence or Retaining Wall Permit
- Geotechnical Reports
- Leasehold Improvement
- Locate Permit
- New Commercial Construction Permit
- Occupant Load Permit
- Signs Permit
- Special Inspection Permit
- Sprinkler Requirements
- Fees and Bonding
- Commercial Plumbing Permit
- Bylaws for Building
- Forms and Guidelines
- Book a Building Inspection
- Report Illegal Construction
- Request Building Plans
- Building Permit Statistics
- Permit Fee Calculator
- Building News and Alerts
- Fast Track Building Permits
- Development Applications
- What's Building in my Neighbourhood
- Development Activity Map
- Community Planning
- NanaimoMap
- Rebates
- Engineering Survey
- Land Use Bylaws
- Soil Removal and Depositing
- Heritage Buildings
- Sustainability
- Transportation & Mobility
-
Your Government
- News & Events
-
City Council
- Advocacy
- Contact Mayor & Council
- Council Meetings
-
Boards & Committees
- Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Inclusiveness
- Board of Variance
- Design Advisory Panel
- Finance and Audit Committee
- Governance and Priorities Committee
- Mayor's Leaders' Table
- Nanaimo Performing Arts Guild
- Parcel Tax Roll Review Panel
- Special District 68 Sports Field and Recreation Committee
- Public Safety Committee
- Understanding Council Committee Structures
- Council Policies
- Mayor's Office
- Council Initiatives
- Proclamations
- Bastion Lighting Requests
- City Bylaws
- Alternative Approval Process
- Budget & Finance
- Records, Information & Privacy
- Elections
- Departments & Contacts
- Careers
- Maps & Data
- Projects
- Tourism Nanaimo
- Community Safety and Wellbeing
- Grants
- Awards
- Accessibility & Inclusion
-
Doing Business
- Economic Development
- Doing Business with the City
- Business Licences
- Filming in Nanaimo
- City Owned Property
- Encroachments onto City Property
- Liquor Licences
- Cannabis Retail
- Business Improvement Areas
- Procurement Services
- Get Involved
- About Nanaimo
- Green Initiatives