Wow, the symposium event on Wednesday was like nothing I’ve been to before. I mean, I probably did go to other environmental symposiums, but when you attend something you’ve helped organize…now that’s special. Me and some other great STEP members came at 8:30 AM to help set up. Most of us were so sleepy we were as dead as a doorknob, but the excitement from seeing the eco-condo, receiving our French windmill shirts, and witnessing the arrival of the yummy snacks woke us up!

I’ll let you in on a backstage secret: we actually came the night before to set up as well. It was freezing on Tuesday night when we went home, but as cheesy as it sounds, our hearts were warm with eagerness for Wednesday.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun tending the registration desk with Alison and Aroona. We showed the hungry teachers where the snacks were and we gave the students markers so that they could make flashy nametags! The guides looked like they were having fun as well. I still remember seeing Helen running back and forth, over and over…

For the rest of the morning, I joined the presenters at the Fountain Dining Hall. It was awesome seeing a room full of students from various schools who were excited to be there. After the introduction and various remarks, came the one and only…drum roll please…*drum roll*…STEVE BIBLA! Boy, was it fun listening to him talk! Everyone was enjoying his lecture from the moment it started to the moment it ended, from the opening pen exercise to the ending Obama simile. His lecture was enlightening, creative, and also very factual. For instance, did you know that eating shrimp seriously contributes carbon emissions? Now I think twice before I eat shrimp.

After Steve’s lecture, me and various other STEP presenters held interactive breakout sessions for people to brainstorm ideas about energy conservation. When we fulfilled all of our duties, we all ran to the EcoPods! Why?

1. We did not want to miss the last turbine tour

2. We just had to go check out all the appealing booths

3. We had to eat since we were all quite hungry after the excitement in the morning

Nuclear energy, YEN, outdoor education opportunities, etc. were all delightful booths for us to explore, but speaking for myself and my friends I can honestly say that the Global Aware button booth was the most exciting. What an amusing time an environmentalist can have when wearing buttons like “Burn Fat, Not Oil” and even “Save Water, Shower with a Friend.”

With my buttons pinned on my “Un Vent de Changement, Un Vent d’Espoir” shirt, I headed to the turbine tour. My favourite part? Peering up the gigantic steel turbine from the inside! Everyone was quite surprised with how big, yet quiet, the turbine is.

All in all, the day was enjoyable and joyous. I think that it gives people an impression that caring about the environment doesn’t have to be dull or just “hugging trees”.

I can’t wait for next year’s symposium!

Written by: Kathy Zhang
Photos by: Cheryl Carr

A few weeks ago at Loretto College students launched their bottle sculpture by holding a bottled water taste test. To see how it went check out the above video created by Wade Vroom for the Youth Energy Network.

Interested in doing this at your school? Just go to our Energy Shift Actions and read the Bottled Sculpture post.

Bottled water is shipped to our schools and communities in many shapes, sizes and brands to satisfy the thirsty masses. Unfortunately many people don’t think about the garbage produced and energy wasted when drinking bottled water. The Pacific Institute estimates that the energy required to produce, ship and cool one bottle of water is equal to filling that bottle a quarter full with oil! To open eyes in your school or community build a life sized sculpture out of water bottles to help kick-off an awareness campaign.

Bottle Sculpture 101

Time: Prep ~ 4-6 months
Cost: $50.00
Grade Range: 5-12 (depending on difficulty)
Target: Whole School
Note: Click HERE to get a copy of our Energy Shift Checklist to help guide your team through the project.

Step 1 ~ Permission:

Before start collecting bottles, ask your administration for permission to run your awareness campaign in a prominent school location.

Step 2 ~ Collection:

To build your sculpture you’ll need lots of bottles! To create a sculpture that is two meters tall, collect at least 500 bottles. Collection takes a few months so start this project early in the year and designate a room as the drop-off location for all bottles. To speed up collection, recruit students who help with recycling and have them pick out bottles before emptying bins. Also, remind students periodically that you are collecting the bottles; it’s up to you whether you keep the reason a surprise!

Step 3 ~ Research:

As your bottles start to pile up research information on bottled water to use in your awareness campaign. Outside of energy usage and waste production areas of research could include health, ecological and societal impacts. For a great start go to the Polaris Institute’s website: insidethebottle.org

Step 4 ~ Design:  

Work as a group to decide on the scale of your sculpture and the necessary materials. To determine the scale, just measure the height and diameter of a water bottle and use the ratio to find your sculpture size. For materials you’ll need bottles, a plywood base, a dowel attached to centre of the base for stability, stiff chicken wire to keep the shape, nails and paper for additional details. Some additional details include a bottle label and cap. Think about what you want your label to say, create a strong statement that highlights your main message or give some key water facts. Not skilled in construction? This is a great opportunity to get other groups involved in eco-action, so ask around for design input from art and/or tech students and teachers.

Step 5 ~ Plan:

Once you know how you’re going to build your giant bottle, think about how you want to launch it. Ideas include placing the bottle at the front of the school with posters, pairing the sculpture launch with a fundraiser selling stainless steel water bottles and/or holding a bottled water taste test comparing bottled to tap. Within your plan, create a regular building schedule for bottle builders to meet up and construct so your sculpture is ready on time.

Step 6 ~ Build!:

To start off rinse out all of your bottles, while they are drying out use a nail or screw to attach the dowel to the centre of the plywood base. Next, create a cylinder of the appropriate height out of your chicken wire. To close the cylinder twist the open ends of the chicken wire together using pliers. Then use your nails to attach the chicken wire to the plywood base with the dowel. Make sure the chicken wire is secure as this will be the foundation for your sculpture. Now use some more chicken wire to create the top of your bottle. Be creative here and just make sure the base of the top has the same diameter as the rest of the bottle so you can easily connect them. Before attaching your bottle top, fill the base cylinder with empty plastic bottles. Once you’ve put in as many as you can, use pliers to attach the top of the bottle. Your sculpture is almost complete, now you just need to add details like a label and cap! These can be easily made out of paper and attached to your sculpture using tape, wire and/or string.

Step 7 ~ Launch:  

Once the bottle is complete put your awareness plan into action! A popular event held at Loretto was a bottled water taste test. After learning about the energy impacts of drinking bottled water, students where given a chance to try different types of water. They then chose their favorite and each response was noted on a graph near the bottle sculpture to chart the results.

Combines a viral advertising technique and student designed  TMO stickers to get students turning off lights and monitors. The key to this campaign is keeping it quiet so students don’t know the meaning of the TMO stickers when they get to school and find them everywhere.

Turn Me Off’ 101

Time: Prep ~ 3-4 weeks
Project ~ 2-5 days
Cost: $140.00 for printing stickers
Grade Range: 7-9
Target: Whole School
Note: Click HERE to get a copy of our Energy Shift Checklist to help guide your team through the project.

Step 1 ~ Permission:

Get permission to place Turn Me Off stickers on lights and monitors

Step 2 ~ Numbers:

Count number of lights and monitors, measure monitors for sticker size

Step 3 ~ Design:

Find a student artist to design sticker, chose an acronym that isn’t obvious, i.e. TMO for Turn Me Off

Step 4 ~ Print:

Go on-line and search for print shops that make stickers. The above cost is average, to cut costs get some sticker paper and make them!

Step 5 ~ Plan:

How do you want to introduce students to the meaning of the stickers? Ideally this campaign includes a few days where students don’t know what the stickers mean creating a built in buzz as students ask around about them.  Decide how you want to spread the word beforehand, some ideas include:

-       A contest where home rooms have to guess the meaning of the stickers

-       Placing posters around school a few days after placement explaining meaning and the importance of turning things off

Step 6 ~ Stick:

After school place stickers on all lights and monitors

Step 7 ~ Enjoy!

Put your awareness campaign into action and enjoy as students start turning off lights and monitors!

Awareness is the first step toward creating energy shifts in our schools and communities. A fantastic way to build awareness around the importance of using less energy is having students teach their peers about the environmental impacts of excessive energy use. The key to making this type of awareness assembly successful is to add interesting facts and images, have a guest speaker if possible and provide simple examples of actions that students can start taking right away.

Awareness Assembly 101

Time: Prep ~ 1.5 months
Cost: $0.00
Grade Range: 5-9
Target: Select classes or whole school
Note: Click HERE to get a copy of our Energy Shift Checklist to help guide your team through the project.

Step 1 ~ Decisions: What and Who

The first step is to decide on a theme. Energy connects to everything in our lives so there are many options for where your presentation can go. Start by researching different aspects of energy conservation, topics could include climate change, waste reduction, renewable energy and re-using. Once you’ve gathered some key facts go through them and decide on the main theme for your presentation. Keep all this information handy! You’ll need it in step 5 when you start developing your presentation!  Looking at your theme also decide whether it would be best to present to certain grades or the whole school.

Step 2 ~ Get Permission

Once you have a theme and some basic information go to your school administration and get permission to hold an assembly. Present them with possible dates that don’t conflict with other events as school.

Step 3 ~ Research Speakers

Give your presentation something extra by booking a guest speaker who can add a professional viewpoint to your chosen theme. Doing this can lend credibility to your message and help you reach more people.  To find an appropriate speaker, go online and look for local organizations running projects that connect to your theme. Look for at least three in case an organization is unable to speak on the day of your assembly. For each organization find out if they have staff members who regularly speak in high schools as their content will be geared toward youth. Last but not least always keep in mind that some speakers may charge a fee decide before contacting people if and what you can afford to pay.

Step 4 ~ Book Speaker

Before contacting each organization have the following assembly information prepared, a description of your theme, the assembly date, why you think they would be a good fit for the assembly and what you’d like them to talk about.  Having this information prepared beforehand will show the organizations that you’re prepared, focused and a good fit for helping them promote their message.  Ideally, contact each organization over the phone or in person and be ready to answer potential questions. While it is important to set a date for the assembly before contacting speakers, keep in mind that you may want to rebook depending on their availability. After you’ve connected with a speaker and have them booked keep them informed on the assembly date, time and give them your contact information to maintain communication leading up to the assembly.

Step 5 ~  Develop Presentation

Depending on your group strengths there are many different ways to develop your assembly presentation. One option is to create an engaging and informative power point that links to your theme. Other options include a series of skits, music, an interactive activity, video or a speech. Whatever option your choose, the most important part is to provide students with a clear message, key facts and concrete actions they can take to make a difference.

Step 6 ~ Practice

Creating an engaging presentation doesn’t happen over night!  Work out any kinks by practicing your presentation leading up the assembly. Make sure that all of your presenters are comfortable with the information and if possible present to smaller audiences who can give you constructive feedback.

Step 7 ~ Present

On the day of your assembly gather all the students you’re presenting to and blow them away with your amazing presentation!

Use a film to inform your whole school about important energy issues by holding a school screening. Bloor’s film was Garbage the Revolution, a powerful Toronto based movie that examines the garbage we trash and the energy involved in its creation and disposal.

To get students talking about the film give an info pack that has discussion questions and lesson ideas to teachers beforehand.

Garbage Screening 101

Time: Prep ~ 4 weeks
Cost: $0-300.00 depending on film and promotion materials
Grade Range:  7-9
Target: Whole School
Note: Click HERE to get a copy of our Energy Shift Checklist to help guide your team through the project.

Step 1 ~ Permission:
Chose a date for your film screening and get permission to show the movie to the whole school on this date.

Step 2 ~ Film Hunt:
Go on-line, visit your local movie rental store and talk to friends to find a film that matches the message you want to make. Don’t forget about shorter films! Rather than showing one long movie, screen a series of shorts that follow a theme.

Step 3 ~ Pick:
As a group, talk about the films you’ve found. Think about your theme, the audience and the time available when making a decision. Some interesting energy and environment films include: Garbage the Revolution, Everything’s Cool, French Fries to Go, The Power of Community and Kilowatt Ours.

Step 4 ~ Permission…2:
Before showing a film to a large audience you need to gain permission from the film’s distributor. First, see if your school board has a screening copy of this film. If they do your work is done, just get your teacher to order it for the school!
If your board doesn’t have a copy, go online, find out who distributes the film and contact them. While some distributors will allow schools to screen a film for free others will charge a fee, if this fee brings you over budget go back to step 3.

Step 5 ~ Preview:
Once you’ve picked the film, gather your group, get some popcorn and watch the movie before showing it to the whole school. This will help you promote the film and create discussion questions for teachers to bring up in class.

Step 6 ~ Info Pack
Get students thinking about your film by creating an info pack for teachers to use in class. Potential items to include in your pack are discussion questions, film facts, and lesson or activity ideas. Once you’ve created your info pack make copies for the teachers and give it out during a staff meeting or through the office.

Click HERE to use the info pack created for Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home.

Step 6 ~ Screen:
Introduce the film, turn down the lights and press play. Enjoy as your school explores the connections between energy and their lives!

An awareness campaign using a student created flyer to inform teachers and students about phantom power use and the steps they can take to stop it. The flyer was distributed by teachers to all students in the school in addition to community members during an evening energy assembly at the school.

What exactly is phantom power? Phantom power is the electricity your home appliances and electronics use even when they appear to be off. Some devices that use phantom power are televisions, microwaves, cell phone chargers and remote control sensors.

Click HERE and HERE to download the flyer (front and back) and distribute it at your school!

Phantom Power Busters 101

Time: Prep ~ 3-4 weeks
Cost: $500.00 for printing 1300 8.5”x5.5” colour flyers
Grade Range: 10-12
Target: Whole School
Note: Click HERE to get a copy of our Energy Shift Checklist to help guide your team through the project.

Step 1 ~ Permission:
Gain permission to present the phantom busters flyer to staff during a monthly staff meeting.

Step 2 ~ Research:
Go on-line and find interesting information and facts on phantom power.

Step 3 ~ Design:
Choose a designer to take the information you’ve found, lay it out and make it look exciting. For help with the layout, start with a flyer or brochure template and modify it.

Step 4 ~ Print:
Decide how you would like to print the flyers. If you have a budget, go on-line, search for print shops and get at least three quotes to find the best price. Before calling the printer decide on flyer: size, colour, paper type and quantity. Colour costs at least double so chose the option that works best for you. For a low budget option, use the school photocopier OR even better save paper by distributing it through the school as a PDF

Step 5 ~ Plan:
How do you want to tell teachers about phantom power? Your teachers will be spreading the message on phantom power to the whole school so make your presentation engaging and to the point. Don’t forget to be creative! In addition to showing them the flyer think about: creating a power point, doing demonstration with a wattmeter or running a short skit.

Step 6 ~ Engage:
After your flyers are printed present them to your teachers so all your classmates can receive one. If you’ve had extra flyers printed, hand them out during school community events or even to local community centres

Young environmental leaders from across the city come

together for ‘Step to Action’!

The Step to Action ‐ Energy Shift Symposium is an educational event created by

students, for students to share their enthusiasm for environmental action.

Over 200 people will be coming together on Wednesday, April 8th at the Exhibition Place EcoPod for a student-organized symposium focusing on energy conservation and renewable energy. The goal of the event is to inspire secondary school students to take environmental action within their schools and communities by creating a ‘shift in energy!’ Organized by student led groups STEP, and SWITCH together with the support of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative (TREC), this exciting event will raise awareness about energy issues and find practical solutions everyone can pursue.

Students will be touring the WindShare turbine, sharing the results of recent energy conservation projects taking place within their EcoSchools, developing action plans, and learning from other successful student projects. The Step to Action – Energy Shift Symposium will create a dynamic space for students to connect with local experts and organizations about key energy issues, tour a sustainable condo, hear from University of Toronto’s environmental psychologist Dan Dolderman and leave their mark on a student created model turbine. Some of the organizations participating in this interactive event include: Clean Air Champions, UNA Canada: Youth4Water, Jane Goodall: Roots & Shoots, Greenpeace and the Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

This inspiring shift is supported by:

As Northern Secondary School’s only math and science club -SPASM (Society for the Promotion of Advanced Sciences and Maths)- we’re always on the lookout for new and exciting activities that we can host for our fellow students. So while listening to my physics teacher discuss the basics of wind energy, I began thinking of ways of teaching some of these concepts to the rest of the school. And that’s when it hit me! Why only teach kids about one type of renewable energy, when you can have members of Canada’s own green community inspire them to take action?

The Enviro-Tech lecture series was born.

Consisting of two lectures taking place afterschool in one of the school’s many science rooms between January 19th and 20th, the series focused on the technology behind wind and solar power generation, as well as the business and logistical challenges of running a green company. The primary goal was to inspire Northern students to pursue a career in the environment, and I think we did a pretty good job. We had roughly 15-20 people come and listen to Nicole Geneau from Next-Era Energy talk about wind energy, and another 10-15 people attend and hear Nicholas Morgan from Morgan Solar talk about their breakthrough in Concentrated Photovoltaics and the difficulties of starting and running a green energy company.

Overall the event was a great success, and we can’t wait to expand our Enviro-Tech series to include biomass, geothermal, hydro power, and maybe even other schools!

If you’d like some tips on how to organize an Enviro-tech lecture series at your school just leave a comment below and we’ll contact you.

Go Green Power!

Eric Yam

2008-2009 SPASM Co-President