DeltaGreen - News

Spotlight on Energy Ambassadors Program

It is not everyday that high school students become enthused about
a guided tour of their school roof, but at Delta Secondary School students recently had ample reason to get excited about a trip to
the top of their school.

Delta School District Energy Manager, Jim White, visited the school to show the environment club the solar panels installed on the roof. These panels were installed last year to provide a solar hot water heating system for the school.  Although contributing just a small percentage to the overall hot water system, the educational benefits of having students monitor the system are invaluable.  The solar hot water system can be monitored online and is incorporated into classroom work. Students learn about clean, solar energy as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The solar panel initiative is of great interest to the Delta Secondary environment club, which has a mandate of finding and implementing sustainable initiatives in their school.  The group is taking part in BC Hydro’s Energy Ambassadors program. The program empowers students to take action with regards to energy conservation.

A partnership between secondary school teams, school districts and BC Hydro, the Energy Ambassadors program focuses on awareness, action and leadership. Student teams identify areas where conservation and sustainable actions could be implemented, and then take action to do so in their school as well as in surrounding elementary schools.  Last year, all of Delta’s seven high schools took part. Delta Secondary, Seaquam Secondary and Burnsview Secondary all installed solar panels, thanks to grants from Solar BC, Natural Resources Canada, and Fortis BC.

Above and beyond the solar panels, Delta Secondary and Seaquam Secondary really stood out in their conservation efforts. Delta Secondary, among other things, received a $6,000 grant from the Delta School District to install low energy lights in their school foyer and outdoor areas, initiated a soft plastic recycling program, and created a centennial garden to teach students about gardening and the importance of sustainable food growth. Seaquam Secondary, just to name a few projects, was involved with preserving local streams, reducing paper in classrooms, organizing lights-out days, and presenting environmental initiatives to elementary schools.

As part of the Energy Ambassadors program, all participating schools were eligible to apply for a BC Hydro Conservation Grant. Due to their efforts, both Delta Secondary and Seaquam Secondary were recently awarded a $1,000 grant from BC Hydro to help with their future endeavours.  Seaquam will be installing a second water bottle refilling station at their school and Delta Secondary is considering doing the same.  Each secondary school had a water bottle refilling station installed at the beginning of this school year.  It is estimated that this initiative is preventing 1,000-2,000 water bottles each month from entering the landfill.

Four of Delta’s high schools are taking part in the Energy Ambassadors program again this year.  Delta Secondary students recently made an elementary school presentation regarding conservation efforts to Ladner Elementary.  The presentation was interactive with energy conservation trivia and tips, as well as relay games for the entire school.

The BC Hydro Energy Ambassadors program fits well with the sustainability policy of the Delta School District.  The policy focuses on conserving electricity, fossil fuels and water, meeting all provincial climate action regulations, adopting policies that protect the environment such as recycling, and fostering environmental stewardship by empowering students and staff to be leaders in sustainability initiatives.  With two schools receiving the sustainability grant, the Delta School District is well on its way to successful implementation of this policy.