At their March 21, 2022 meeting, Nanaimo City Council committed up to $10,000 to support participation in the BC Sustainable Energy Association's (BCSEA) Cool It! Climate Leadership Training Program for Nanaimo school students.
BCSEA is a non-profit association committed to promoting the understanding, development and adoption of sustainable energy and energy conservation and efficiency in British Columbia. The Cool It! program is a climate education workshop and contest for students in grades 4 and 5 and secondary school classes. Classroom students participate in interactive workshops and games to support discussion and build on knowledge of climate change. Following the workshop, students work on a four-week Cool It! challenge that encourages families to make important changes to their energy consumption.
By educating and empowering Nanaimo school students to shift their behaviours and take actions to reduce their impacts on climate change, the Cool It! program aligns directly with the Green and Empowered Nanaimo Goals of the draft City Plan - Nanaimo ReImagined. The draft plan includes specific policies that support communication and capacity building actions to address climate change, as well as collaborative partnerships between the City and Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools.
For more information on the City of Nanaimo's climate action initiatives, visit the Green Initiatives tab on www.nanaimo.ca.
Strategic Link: Programs that educate and promote sustainable forms of energy use support Council's commitment to be an environmentally responsible community.
Key Points
- The BC Sustainable Energy Association offers the Cool It! Climate Leadership Training Program for elementary and high school students throughout BC.
- Nanaimo schools' participation of this program will provide an opportunity for students and their families to increase their knowledge on climate change and encourage them to take practical actions that would help advance the City's greenhouse gas reduction targets.
- Council allocated up to $10,000 from the Climate Action Reserve Fund to support elementary and high school classes to participate in the program.
- If the program is successful, City staff will return to Council to report on the project outcomes and potential ongoing support for the program and its associated cost.
Quotes
"Educating and empowering our younger generations about climate change is an obvious priority. Not only are they our planet's future leaders, but they're the generation that is best equipped to handle change; they're too young to be stuck in their ways, and let's face it - they're going to face the effects of climate change for much longer than the rest of us."
Leonard Krog, Mayor, City of Nanaimo
"The Board of Education fully appreciates the continued partnership it has with the City of Nanaimo. We have partnered on a variety of projects such as the sports corridor behind NDSS and most recently the Te'Tuxwtun project in the City's Harewood neighbourhood. This new and exciting partnership will now have us venture into the classroom while aligning directly with the Board's goal of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability. We know that energy management and conservation are important subjects for our students who have been seeking and making change in their schools for many years."
Charlene McKay, Board Chair, Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools
Quick Facts
- The Cool It! Climate Leadership Training program (the Cool It! Program) has been working with BC youth for over ten years and empowering youth sustainability champions throughout BC.
