The students at New Myrnam School received some great news last Thursday afternoon (June 6) when they found out that they won their third straight A + For Energy grant for $5,000. For the 2019-20 school year, students in grades 4 - 12 will be completing a year-long project that answers the following question: How can citizens in a small, rural community work collaboratively to reduce their collective carbon footprint? To answer this question, students will work in four cross-grade, cross-curricular teams to examine the energy consumption of the school and larger community. They will focus on examining how local food production can reduce the carbon footprint of a rural community that is geographically isolated from larger centres. The project will see students in the school's horticulture program design and create a large-scale hydroponic system to produce lettuce varieties, vegetables and herbs.
These vegetables will be used for the school nutrition program. In addition, the school will also partner to provide these foods for the local Myrnam grocery store, restaurant (C.J.s), and the Eagle View Senior's Lodge. To conclude the project, students will calculate to what extent our local carbon footprint has been reduced through the reduction in the shipping of food over long distances and the use of exclusively renewable energy sources to produce the food.
Congratulations to the students and staff at New Myrnam School! We can't wait to see what you do with this project!
For more information
4313-48 Avenue
St. Paul Alberta
Canada T0A 3A3
www.stpauleducation.ab.ca
