Can You Help with our Climate Change Program in BC’s Schools?

By Guy Dauncey on May 10, 2012

The grade six classroom was hushed and expectant. A special guest was coming but the students didn't yet know who it was.

Then the door swung open and Superwoman burst into the room, wearing a blue and red cape.

"Do you want to change the world?"

she called out to the awestruck children. "Do you want to make a difference?"

“YES!” they replied!

And so began another session of the hugely successful Climate Change Showdown. Developed by the BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA) in 2006, it has now reached more than 50,000 schoolchildren across British Columbia, from Victoria to Dawson Creek, saving an estimated 33,000 tonnes of GHGs. Our goal is to awaken BC’s children to the realities of climate change, to educate them about the practical solutions, and persuade them to get engaged personally.

But wait!

This program needs your help. It is funded by several municipalities and agencies, but it has been a difficult year, as it has for many. Due to some funding cuts, and now the BC teacher's strike, we have had to step up our efforts on the front lines and tackle an unexpected funding gap. We need to raise $9,500 to fill the gap, so we can get rolling for the next school year starting in September.

The program involves BCSEA multimedia presentations and a BCSEA-designed board game that the kids play in class, which gets the discussion and questions going.

But it’s after the class ends that the real fun begins, when the students seek their parents’ help in a four-week contest to see who can change home energy use the most. Kayden, aged 10 from Kamloops, said, "We started to take shorter showers, stopped idling the car and even filled up the tires. I knew my family would help me with this project, I'm just amazed how much they helped."

Dilraj, aged 9 from Surrey said, "I'm trying to explain to my grandpa that he should at least try to take a shower for seven minutes, because he always takes a shower for twenty minutes."

After four weeks the results are compiled and the winning classes and students are recognized in the communities where they live. In 2011, the Grade 7 class at Kathleen McNeely Elementary in Richmond reduced their annual carbon footprint by a full 60 tonnes. The students' work has been celebrated in a new video produced by the Kamloops Chapter of the BCSEA. Last year, all of the students across the province prevented an estimated 3,728 tonnes of greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere by their actions.

The kids are doing their part – can you help us do ours?

We’re making this direct appeal to our friends and supporters. To raise the $9,500, we are hoping you will be generous.

  • We need four people or businesses who will become Climate Change Showdown Champions by donating $1,000.

  • We need five people or businesses who will become Climate Change Showdown Heroes by donating $500.
  • We need twenty people who will become Climate Change Showdown Leaders by donating $100.
  • And we need forty people who will become Friends of the Climate Change Showdown by donating $25.
  • Total = $9,500

Please, please and thank you! We are not an established charity, but anyone giving $1,000 or more can receive a charitable receipt provided that you call us first at 250-881-1304.

Can you help?

The button for donations is HERE. Donors will be recognized on our website (if you wish) and given other opportunities to see the Climate Change Showdown program in action.

For progress on the appeal see here. We're almost half-way there.

Many thanks!

from Guy Dauncey, Cheryl Kabloona, David McKee, Renate Sitch, and all Environmental Educators who take the Showdown into the classrooms and inspire the students.

To learn more about the Climate Change Showdown, visit www.bcsea.org/ccs or contact Renate Sitch, the Program Manager at 604-564-0016 or ccshowdown@bcsea.org

The BCSEA empowers British Columbians to build a clean, renewable energy future by working in education, advocacy and tangible community projects. www.bcsea.org

The BCSEA offers the Climate Change Showdown all over British Columbia. We’ve reached more than 50,000 children since the program’s inception in 2006, resulting in an estimated 33,000 tonne reduction in GHGs. BCSEA carries out parts of the Climate Change Showdown as an agent of the Sierra Club BC. We’re grateful to the Sierra Club BC for their partnership.

The Last Word

"It turns out we had a low-flow showerhead, and so we installed it."- Tayana

"I told my mom to try to idle less, and she did it." - Ali

"Me and my parents have been turning the car off when a train goes by."- Chris

"Me and my family have changed light bulbs in the bathroom and my room. We now wash in cool water every day."- Sammy