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June 2012 issue

Table of Contents Sustainable homes Canada's greenest homes Eco-conscious commuting Eco-conscious leisure Environmental Scientist of the Year Energy use in Canada Solar panels for all seasons Algae for biofuel New energy in the Yukon The Holy Grail of Green The bike factor Off the grid Mosaic The Inside Story Editor’s Notebook Book Reviews Reverberations ----------------------------------------------- Past issues archive Subject index Contributors index

Education
Class acts

From broadcasting key energy tips during the morning announcements to inventing a green product, nearly 12,000 students from across Canada learned about energy awareness during the Classroom Energy Diet Challenge (CEDC).

The three-month contest, which ended in March, challenged students and teachers to become more energy-aware by earning points as they completed up to 25 tasks, with the opportunity to win big prizes at the end.

The Top School Prize was awarded to Duncan Cran Elementary School in Fort St. John, B.C., where vice-principal and science teacher Christine Todd single-handedly spearheaded the CEDC efforts. By involving all 250 students, the school won $3,000 to throw a school party, purchase school supplies and donate to a charity of its choice.

Todd’s enthusiasm helped to build an energy-saving culture within the school. “It allowed for hands-on, projectbased learning, which they really enjoyed,” says Todd. “It got their attention. They realized that, regardless of their age, they can make a change.”

Blossom D’Souza’s grade-one class (above) at The Divine Infant Catholic School in Scarborough, Ont., won the Most Points Prize. The class received $1,500 to hold a class party, buy classroom school supplies and donate to a charity of its choice.

“The students learned the whole concept of saving energy,” says D’Souza, “and are so much more aware than before.”

One hundred and forty classrooms reached the minimum of 30 points and were entered into a draw to win a SMART Board 885ix interactive whiteboard system. Alaina Aylward’s grade two/three class at St. Mark’s School in King’s Cove, N.L., won at the elementary level and Michael De Santis’ grade-10 class at Vancouver Technical Secondary School won at the secondary level.

The other stream of the CEDC was a video contest, in which the student entrants were to create a public service announcement to increase energy awareness. The winners were Suzanne Archibald’s grade three/four class at Keswick Ridge School in Keswick Ridge, N.B., at the elementary level and Adrienne Longworth’s grade six/seven class at Sir William Osler School in Vancouver at the secondary level. Both grand-prize winners were awarded a $2,000 gift card for classroom technology to support school learning.

The CEDC is a partnership between the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) and Shell Canada to educate youth on energy awareness.

“The CEDC explores, in fun and meaningful ways, where our energy comes from, how it is used and how Canadians are addressing the energy challenge,” says Ashley Nixon, strategic relations manager at Shell Canada.

André Préfontaine, executive director of the RCGS and publisher of Canadian Geographic, says the CEDC provided a unique opportunity for students to think critically about the world and their place within it. “The CEDC clearly supports geographic education as the participating classes studied the impact of human activity on the environment.”

To learn more about the CEDC or to sign up for the next Challenge, visit energydiet. canadiangeographic.ca.

— Jessica Harding

Kids take the greening lead

Canadian Geographic writer Jessica Harding and photographer Marlin Olynyk got the chance to meet some of the students and one teacher who gave it their all during the Classroom Energy Diet Challenge.

By Jessica Harding with photography by Marlin Olynyk

Stephanie Hagan, grade 6/7 teacher at Metcalfe Public School in Metcalfe, Ont. Click photo to view a slideshow.

It’s a bright spring day in April when Marlin and I drive out of the city and into the vast farmland minutes outside of Ottawa. We are headed to Metcalfe Public School in Metcalfe, Ont., roughly 35 kilometres southeast of Ottawa, where Stephanie Hagan teaches a grade 6/7 split French/English class.

Hagan enthusiastically welcomes us into her classroom, bursting to show us the walls full of activities her students completed during the Classroom Energy Diet Challenge. Her enthusiasm clearly rubbed off on her students, who invented their own green product and filmed a commercial for it and spent a windy afternoon outdoors determining the best placement in the schoolyard for a wind turbine.

“Because the challenges allowed for real-world application with the projects and activities, the students just took it and ran with it,” Hagan says. Her class completed 24 out of 25 challenges during the competition. “They really went the extra mile.”

The CEDC gave each of the more than 12,000 participating students from 500 classrooms around the country a chance to learn about their individual power to save energy. It offered teachers lesson plans that would motivate students of all grade levels to take part.

And while the students did an outstanding job, their dedication cannot be credited without recognizing the hard-working teachers behind them, adapting lesson plans and encouraging their students to care about saving energy.

A few of Hagan’s students were excused from their scheduled class to show Marlin and me around, giddily demonstrating their work, sharing their favourite challenges and chatting amongst themselves.

Although Hagan’s class didn’t win, they’re proud of what they accomplished. “I think the students feel empowered,” says Hagan. “They’ve seen all of the little things they can do to make the planet be the way they want it to be for the future.”

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Awards
Medals and merits

Some of the recipients of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal gather in front of the Army Officers’ Mess in Ottawa on April 2. For a full list of RCGS recipients, visit www.rcgs.org/awards/diamond_jubilee.

John Geiger, president of the Society, and Kevin MacLeod, Canadian Secretary to the Queen, hosted an awards ceremony at the Army Officers’ Mess in Ottawa to present the medal.

The medal was established to honour Queen Elizabeth II for 60 years of service to Canada and is being awarded this year to 60,000 Canadians who have contributed to their country.

Andrew Lovesey, a social media strategist and volunteer for the Society, was among the medal’s youngest recipients. Being recognized alongside renowned explorers and long-time supporters of the Society, he says, was a real honour. “It was great to see Fellows being recognized for their contributions to Canada and to the Society.”

For photos of the event, visit the Society’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/theRCGS.

— Samia Madwar

Education
Up on geography

Scores of young geography buffs from across Canada gathered online on April 19 to duke it out over three scholarship prizes and the title of Great Canadian Geography Challenge winner. Kyle Richardson took first place, Jacob Burnley was second, and Lucas Grande came in third.

The Great Canadian Geography Challenge is one of the longest-running programs of the Canadian Council for Geographic Education (CCGE). Now entering its 18th year, the Challenge has inspired more than two million Canadian students to become more geographically literate.

The success of the students comes, in part, from dedicated teachers such as Geoff Buerger, a CCGE executive and the principal of Diamond Jenness Secondary School, in Hay River, N.W.T. For the past four years, Buerger has encouraged his students to complete multiple levels of the competition.

“The Challenge is a great enrichment activity for all students,” he says. “It activates prior knowledge and stimulates interest in new topics.”

Beth Dye, chair of the CCGE’s national coordinating committee for the Challenge, has been involved with the program since its inception. “The Great Canadian Geography Challenge provides students who are passionate about geography the opportunity to compete with other learners and demonstrate their knowledge,” she says. “It fills a special niche for those learners who want to geographically analyze their world.”

To learn more about the Challenge, meet this year’s winners and view past questions, visit www.geochallenge.ca.

— Michela Rosano

Acknowledgement
March-ing on

After six years as the Atlantic representative of the Canadian Council for Geographic Education (CCGE), Peggy March has reached the end of her term, but not the end of her love for geography.

March’s involvement with the CCGE began in 1995, after a geography course at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ont., triggered her to become proactive about geographic education.

That same year, she became a Fellow of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS). Aside from her work with the CCGE and the RCGS, March has earned a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and a National Council for Geographic Education award.

Her work as a geographer and as the department head of social studies and an instructor at Memorial University in Newfoundland is evidence of her commitment to expanding education, both geographic and otherwise.

March hopes to continue her work with the CCGE, incorporating her skills to be of service.

The RCGS and the CCGE wish her all the best in her future endeavours and thank her for her hard work over the years.

— Jessica Harding

Featured fellow
A polar passion

Shelagh Grant’s love for the Canadian outdoors started at the tender age of three, when she began hiking and canoeing with her father. Her fascination with the Canadian Arctic, however, grew over her lifetime. For the past 35 years, she has researched and taught others about the history and sovereignty of this often-overlooked frozen realm.

The author, historian and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Fellow has dedicated her career to Canadian and Arctic studies. In 1981, she completed a joint honours B.A. in history and Canadian studies at Trent University, in Peterborough, Ont. Two years later, she earned her master’s degree in history and went on to teach the subjects at her alma mater, where she is now an adjunct professor.

One of the highlights of her life’s work came in 2010 when her book Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America was published. In 2011, that title won her the Lionel Gelber Prize, which recognizes non-fiction works on foreign affairs, making her the first Canadian woman — and the second Canadian ever — to win.

“I was never one to get excited about winning awards,” says Grant, “but this was different. I felt that I was accepting the award on behalf of all Canadians and that it would provide incentive for future authors writing on global affairs.”

Grant remains focused on furthering Arctic education with initiatives such as the Shelagh Grant Endowment Award, which offers funding for graduate students in Canadian studies and indigenous studies.

Find out more at www.shelaghgrant.com.

— Michela Rosano

Education
Teaching teachers

Sitting at their desks like students, teachers attentively listened to Jane Kerr-Wilson at a professional development day in Ottawa in February. Kerr-Wilson, Ontario representative for the Canadian Council for Geographic Education (CCGE), engaged the teachers by demonstrating what being a member of the CCGE means and exploring the resources available to them. A strong advocate for geographic education, she spoke about how to use maps and Canadian Geographic to help students learn, inviting the teachers to talk about where they have been in the classroom and where they would like to go. “Any time teachers have the opportunity to gather and share quality resources,” she says, “the students win.”

— Jessica Harding

Events
Fellows dinner

Hollywood is coming to Hull. Actor Dan Aykroyd and his wife, actress Donna Dixon, will present the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s (RCGS) Gold Medal to paleontologist Philip Currie at the RCGS’s College of Fellows Dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the Grand Hall at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Gatineau, Que.

Currie will be the event’s keynote speaker.

A silent auction will feature adventure travel packages, original Canadian art and much more.

Tickets for the event will be avaliable through TicketWeb.

— Jessica Harding

Contests
View your world

Whether it’s a shot of ice skaters enjoying a BeaverTail on the Rideau Canal or a lone canoe floating down the South Nahanni River, photographs taken at any one of the 15 Canadian UNESCO World Heritage Sites are eligible to be entered in Canadian Geographic’s World Views photo contest. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention, which kick-started the move to preserve cultural and natural heritage around the world, Canadian Geographic is partnering with Parks Canada to illustrate the beauty of our World Heritage Sites. Submissions will be accepted until Aug. 24, 2012, and the winning photograph will appear in the November issue of Canadian Geographic.

— Carolina Novotny

Explorations
Antarctic adventurers

Kayaks point toward the Akademik Sergey Vavilov (Photo courtesy of One Ocean Expeditions)

It’s the coldest, darkest, driest and windiest place on Earth, and it has the power to change people forever. This unique place, says One Ocean Expeditions’ managing director, Andrew Prossin, is Antarctica.

“Imagine going to a place where you can explore hundreds of miles of coast and see no evidence of people, not even a bottle cap,” he says. “Imagine a place where wildlife is incredibly abundant and completely indifferent to your presence. Even the most jaded city dweller is touched by it.” For Hugh and Sue Hindle, it was images of gentoo penguins waddling across the beach and giant icebergs calving into the ocean, sending waves crashing to the shore, that made their experience unforgettable. The couple, from Red Deer, Alta., knew that Canadian Geographic could, on its pages, transport them to places they might not otherwise see, but they never imagined it would literally transport them to the Antarctic. After renewing their Canadian Geographic subscription, they won places aboard One Ocean Expeditions’ Akademik Sergey Vavilov for a 10-day cruise to Antarctica. “Now that we’ve been there,” says Sue Hindle, “I’d tell everyone to go. I didn’t realize how much it would move me.”

For details on joining the next expedition to Antarctica, from Dec. 8 to 18, 2012, visit www.oneoceanexpeditions.com.

— Samia Madwar

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