EarthCARE Program Worth the Cost

January 9, 2008

By Michelle M. McCarthy, a media studies student at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario.

Plans to continue the EarthCARE program in participating schools throughout Hastings and Prince Edward District may end if the board is unable to secure funding.

At the board of education meeting held on Nov.19, 2007, the committee was updated on the activities of the EarthCARE program. EC is the educational part of the board's partnership with Ameresco, an energy resolution company that developed the program and helped to fund its operations. The program is now reaching the end of its three year plan and with that comes the end of the Ameresco funding. Carl Pitman, chair of the board of education, sent a letter to the Ministry of Education, requesting funding to continue the program. According to Pitman, if the Ministry does not approve the request it is unlikely the board will be able to find an alternative source of funding. "We are hoping the Ministry will offer some kind of funding," said Pitman. "It is difficult to say how quickly they will respond to the request." Pitman said the main thing the schools stand to lose is the reward program. They offer participating schools a reward of $2000 for their efforts, which they are encouraged to use in ways that improve the eco-friendliness of their individual schools. Rose-Marie Batley, Executive Director of EarthCARE, said the program is unique and has been highly successful in its five years of operation. Batley said the key to its success is its delivery and its senior staff.

EarthCARE supplies materials that can be incorporated into the curriculum but that don't interfere with it. The program is encouraged, not mandated and is very youth oriented. They train the building operators to run the schools more efficiently, therefore cutting down on utility costs. The "lights off computers off program", called LOCO, is one of the main initiatives. Students in the schools make an effort to ensure that lights and computers are off in classrooms where they're not being used.

"We demonstrate results through the annual audits of the buildings. This makes students and staff aware of what their waste is," said Batley. They take responsibility for the issues instead of having the "I'm just one person attitude." In the Hastings & Prince Edward DSB audits have indicated a decrease in the number of lights that shouldn't be on by 20 percent since the first audit in fall of 2005. They have also shown a decrease of 12 percent in the number of computers that shouldn't be on. Batley said the program started in the Ottawa Carleton district. They saved over $1.7 million in utility costs during the 06/07 school year, with over 90 percent participation from the district schools. The program in the Ottawa Carleton area has managed to stay operational without funding from Ameresco for two years.

In the Hastings and Prince Edward School district they were able to save over $180,000 in the 06/07 school year with over 98 percent of the district schools participating. The program focuses on three target areas of reduction: energy consumption, water, and waste. Batley said that it is not feasible for schools to run the program on an individual basis without funding because of the cost to train the coordinators that run and organize the audits.

Gayle Miller, the teaching facilitator for Moira Secondary School said since the initial audit, they have set goals and held student led initiatives to reduce energy usage and waste. According to Miller, the school will be able to continue certain aspects of the EarthCARE program without the funding but will probably lose the incentives and rewards they give to participants. Since the program began, the number of students involved on the school's EarthCARE team has jumped from four to 14.

"The kids that are part of the team have worked very hard to raise awareness," said Miller. They recently held a contest called "Viva La Volta" where classrooms brought in their used batteries for proper disposal. The classroom that collected the most volts was rewarded with a prize. Miller said the school has also begun to implement a plan to turn lockers into recycling units. Recycling bins are not allowed in the hallways because they are a fire hazard. By converting lockers into recycling units and removing the existing garbage cans, it will be more convenient for students to recycle then to use the garbage.

Goals for EarthCARE are all on target based on observations and data collected from the audits. The investment return can be as much as three times the cost to operate the program. EC is also customized annually for each district to fit their individual needs. The ministry failed to respond to my requests for interviews regarding the process they are taking to approve the funding for EarthCARE in the Hastings and Prince Edward School District.