Eco-Challenge! Coming to a family near you
By Nelson Daily Staff
“If everyone on Earth set out to live like a typical Kootenay resident, we’d need five Earths to get the job done,” says Monica Nissen, Wildsight’s Education program manager in Nelson.
“That’s a whopping big eco-footprint.”
The ecological footprint or ‘eco-footprint’ for short, is more than a concept: it’s an equation that accounts for the impacts our lifestyles have on the planet. Grade 5 and 6 students in six Kootenay schools have been learning about their own eco-footprints, thanks to Wildsight’s Beyond Recycling program.
It can be a little surprising to realize just how large your eco-footprint is. How can students deal positively with this new knowledge?
Enter the Eco-Handprint Challenge, happening this March in households around the region.
Nissen and five other professional educators deliver Beyond Recycling to classes in Castlegar, Blewett, Salmo, Creston, Fernie and Kaslo. The Eco-Handprint Challenge-a new addition to the curriculum this year-is designed to help kids hang on to their newfound knowledge and bring their families into the conversation.
“The eco-handprint is an expression of what we do about our eco-footprints,” Nissen said. “It’s upbeat and positive and it helps kids answer the question: What are you doing to reduce your impact?”
Luckily, there is plenty that students and their families can do. The Eco-Handprint Challenge lesson involves sending Energy Snapshot and Take Action study sheets home with the students.
“These are home audits and observation sheets that students can to do with families,” Nissen said.
“Students commit to shrinking their eco-footprint by taking up certain actions over the course of a month. They commit to actions of their choosing, for example, walking to a certain friend’s house instead of asking for a ride, then they record how their efforts pay off.”
One of the most popular actions is to take shorter showers, Nissen said.
“This one seems to resonate with students-some of whom are now timing their showers to last under three minutes.”
Beyond Recycling was developed five years ago by Dawn Deydey and Megan Walsh of the Wildsight Elk Valley branch.
The curriculum is interactive and meets B.C. Ministry of Education science learning outcomes. It teaches students about energy, water and resources, greenhouse gases and garbage: How much we use-and how we can waste less.
“Wildsight is grateful for the support of Fortis BC, the Regional District of Central Kootenay, TD Friends of the Environment, BC Hydro and Waste Management Inc.,” Nissen said. “These sponsors are helping us bring the message of sustainability home.
“This is going to be an interesting month for Beyond Recycling students and their families,” she added. “We anticipate a bit of a ripple effect and we look forward to the discussions and learning that comes out of the Eco-Handprint Challenge.”
About Wildsight www.Wildsight.ca
Wildsight works locally, regionally and globally to protect biodiversity and encourage sustainable communities in Canada’s Columbia and southern Rocky Mountain region.
This area is internationally recognized as a keystone to conservation in western North America.
Beyond Recycling www.BeyondRecycling.ca
“Sparking the passion and creativity in youth that is necessary for a sustainable future.”
Beyond Recycling was inspired by the success of educational programs developed by the Rocky Mountain Education Society of Canmore, Alberta.
The program was expanded and adapted to Fernie, with four years of program development led by Dawn Deydey and Megan Walsh. They created the 120-page Beyond Recycling Program Manual, filling it with over 20 lessons.
In 2009, the program was incorporated as a Wildsight Regional Education for Sustainable Living program. With the assistance of Program Manager Monica Nissen, the program has now expanded to ten communities throughout the Kootenays.
