27/02/11

Chemainus Secondary SchoolPlanting the Seeds of Change

What our school has planted

• Solar Panels

• BC Hydro Grants

• Refundable Drink containers

• Fruit Trees

• Lights off

• School Garden

• Compost System and Pick Up

• Reusable Water Bottles

• Recycling and a Recycle Station

Solar Panel Application

Chemainus Secondary was awarded a grant from Solar BC for four solar panels. These solar panels will supply heat to the school's hot water system, accounting for about 40% of the energy used by the building. This grant was also extended to include Cowichan Secondary and Frances Kelsey Secondary, spreading the conservation of energy throughout the district.

BC Hydro Grants

Last year, the Energy Ambassador Green Team worked very hard for the grants that BC Hydro was awarding. We were successful in receiving $4500, and we will use this money to further reduce energy consumption. The changes we are making at our school include...

Sensor Lighting in hallways and rooms

Energy Efficient Power Bars for computer labs

Sensor water taps and hand dryer for washrooms

Energy Reduction

• Over all the electrical consumption for Chemainus Secondary is down by 17.1% each year compared to the baseline year of 2007/08.

• The natural gas consumption is down by 12% each year compared to the baseline year of 2007/08 .

Energy Reduction Graph

School Garden & Fruit Trees

The woodwork students created four box plots, and soil was donated from the community. Soon after, classes were planting, watering and caring for the community garden. In the end, our cooking class harvested the many herbs, radishes and lettuce and incorporated it into their learning.

We also planted four fruit trees, that will offset carbon, become home for wildlife, and supply us with delicious fruit for years to come.

Compost

After seeing wasted food scraps fill our garbage bins, our school decided to develop a compost system.

Now we have more....

Zero Waste Green Initiative

What does this mean? We are working towards eliminating the need for trash cans and sending zero garbage to landfills!

How are we accomplishing this goal?

Through Composting, Recycling,

Collaboration, Communication

and Co-operation.

This initiative is already supported by CVRD, the

Cowichan Green Community Outreach Team and North Cowichan, and Cowichan

School District.

Switching to new habits

• Classrooms have the household kitchen compost bins

• North Cowichan is picking up our weekly compost

• This habit will save money, energy, and our earth

Phasing out the plastic

We minimized the number of vending machines carrying plastic bottles and replaced the open space with a Recycle Station.

We have metal and collapsable water bottles at our school for students to slowly eliminate all plastic water bottles sold at the school.

Community Education Night Spring 2013

• Educate the community on how Chemainus Secondary became ‘Zero Waste’

• Information on how they can get started at home, in their businesses and our community schools

We all have a part to play in supporting our efforts.

Every action, big or small,

makes a difference!

Green Day at Chemainus Secondary

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Thank you

Team