Hydro Ottawa Recognizes Students Efforts to Save Energy through Recycling Program

40 schools collected more than 2400 strings of lights saving enough power to run five households!

Jennifer Adams, Superintendent of Program, Rob Campbell, Chair of the OCDSB, Rosemarie Leclair, President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc., and Melanie Buchanan, Principal of Adrienne Clarkson ES.

ACES students celebrate the donation to the OCDSB's breakfast program.

April 10, 2007

On Friday, March 23 at 10 am, the President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc., Rosemarie T. Leclair, presented Rob Campbell, Chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), with a cheque in recognition of the school district's outstanding participation in Hydro Ottawa's festive LED Exchange Program. The presentation took place at Adrienne Clarkson Elementary School.

In December 2006 Hydro Ottawa sponsored a festive LED light exchange program that encouraged students and parents to trade in at least two strings of old incandescent lights for a string of new energy efficient LED lights. Thanks to the efforts of students in more than 40 schools, 2,404 strings of old lights were collected and recycled. The annual electricity savings alone of this exchange amounted to 47,784 kWh, or enough electricity to power five households for a year!

"We're very proud of what this partnership has achieved," says Ms. Leclair, President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. "The students' response to this program has been tremendous. Not only did they eliminate 13 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, they also helped their families to learn more about energy conservation in the process. That will have an even bigger impact in the future."

Hydro Ottawa donated the $2,750 realized from re-cycling the copper from the incandescent lights back to schools through the area school breakfast program. The school district was also presented with a certificate in recognition of its commitment to conservation.

"This is a marvellous example of how our students are coming together to benefit the community as a whole through participation in important conservation programs such as the festive LED Light Exchange Program," reports Rob Campbell, Chair of the OCDSB. "We thank Hydro Ottawa for offering this innovative exchange and the valuable energy conservations lessons it conveyed to our students. It fit nicely with our EarthCARE Environmental Education Partnership currently running in our schools."

As part of the exchange program, Hydro Ottawa and students encouraged people receiving new lights to make a small donation to the breakfast program, the Snowsuit Fund, a local Food Bank or the school's EarthCARE Environmental Team. Students at Adrienne Clarkson not only recycled 120 strings of lights but also collected over $600 for the Snowsuit Fund.

Congratulations to all the OCDSB schools that made a difference in the festive light exchange!