EcoChallenge - Example Projects

Read below to learn more about some EcoChallenge success stories from other BR classes…

Students were inspired after taking the “Track your Trash” EcoChallenge. They identified the issue of littering around their school and came up with a solution: they felt easier access to garbage and recycling cans would help all the students at the school reduce the playground litter.  To resolve this issue, they not only purchased new, metal tins, but also created and performed a play to help explain their solution with the rest of the school.

Bringing a worm bin into the classroom for the whole year helped one class with their “Compost This” EcoChallenge. Students loved feeding the worms the waste food that would normally end up in the garbage.  They problem solved when their bin got fruit flies and everyone involved thought the project was a big success.

After taking the, students in Revelstoke set up a waste stream station for their Waste EcoChallenge. They stressed the importance of the 4R pyramid with recycling not being as important and reusing and reducing.  The 4 waste stations  (Compost, 1-7 Plastic, Plastic wrap, Cardboard) lasted all year.  Students decided that no waste from their lunch was allowed to go in the garbage.  Students brought back any garbage from their lunch back home.  Parents got great feedback on what is getting eaten and it was found that ziploc bags got reused more often.

Nelsons students took the “Tips and Tricks” EcoChallenge and made posters and delivered presentations about litterless lunches to all the other classes.  Students decided that no more juice boxes or yogurt containers were allowed in the school garbage, so that all had to return home

Students took the “Investigate It” EcoChallenge and decided to decrease the amount of energy they used for a 10 hour period.  Conversations from this challenge continued throughout the year.

Students in Fernie took the “Need It?” EcoChallenge. They tracked all the items in their classroom that used electricity and considered how often they use them each day.  Great discussions were had when trying to decide on items that they could go without and how it would impact them.  Students decided to go a full day without the smart board and the electric pencil sharpener.

In Creston, students took the ”Screen Free” EcoChallenge.  Many students couldn’t imagine going a whole day without screens.  Class discussions and polling showed that many students survived the challenge and found many new ways to entertain themselves without screens.

IDES Students took the “Phantom Find” EcoChallenge and drew maps of their homes and then located all the areas that had phantom power being used.  Students were really surprised at how much power was being used without them knowing it.

Students took the “Measure It” EcoChallenge and first went to the gym to measure how long it took them to walk a set distance.  They  then calculated how long it would take them to walk to different locations compared to driving.

Revelstoke students did a “Walking” EcoChallenge in Feb and had 70% of students take part.  In May they then did a Bike to School week and had 80% uptake.

Students felt inspired to make a difference after learning about the lack of clean water in other countries in the Our Water lesson.  Students hosted a make, bake or reuse sale to fundraise and also went to their local Credit Union to request funds. The Grade 5 class donated a total of $1500.00 to Me to We to support rural water projects in Tanzania.

Students loved the “Short Shower” EcoChallenge in Fernie.  First students measured the length of their usual shower and then tried to see if they could reduce their time.

When taking the “How Much H20” EcoChallenge students were surprised at how much it really all added up.  They were shocked to see the difference in how much water the average person in BC uses compared to the rest of the world.

Students in Fernie took the “Real Food Potluck” EcoChallenge to create a dish to share with their class that contained locally grown food.  The Potluck was hosted in the nearby community garden and allowed students to test out their cooking skills and to enjoy many delicious local foods like: deer sausage, rhubarb crisp, fresh baked bread, elk jerky,  edible flower and more.

Invermere students got cooking in the classroom instead of bringing food from home.  They made energy bites, sweet potato fries, juice and chocolate avocado pudding. All students helped prepare this tasty dishes, and then went home with a cookbook of  the recipes

Just like the movie they watched in the True Cost of Food lesson, Nelson students took the “Local Food” EcoChallenge and were inspired to make a pizza with local ingredients.  First students visited Legendary Meats to make sausage and then visited Kootenay Smokehouse to make pizza with local ingredients including basil and pepperoni

Students in the West Kootenay took the “Investigate It” EcoChallenge and conducted a food investigation at their local grocery store to see what local food was available. Students then visited SEEDS where seniors volunteer and garden to support the local food cupboard