Planting the Seeds of Opportunity

Image: Cover page for The Enchanted Drill Bit written, illustrated and published by grade three and four students at Tilley School with support from Enerplus. Cover illustration by Delaney Tateson, grade four.

Elementary school teacher Janice Jensen and her students at Tilley School in Tilley, Alberta have taken environmental sustainability to a new level since the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers’ (CAPP) Energy in Action program visited their community three years ago.

On Tilley’s Energy in Action day in May 2007, students and oil and gas industry volunteers built indoor greenhouses that they use to grow food and flowers to raise money for the local food bank. The event also sparked a long lasting relationship between the school and companies that operate in the area.

Jensen saw the Energy in Action program as a window of opportunity. “A strong relationship with Enerplus and BP Canada was built that day and it has continued to this day,” she said. Since Energy in Action, Janice has worked closely on a variety of projects with BJ Arnold, Stakeholder Relations Advisor, and Lorne Schmidt, District Foreman, both of Enerplus. “It wasn’t just a one day event for them, they have stayed actively involved. The students get very excited when Lorne and BJ come to visit.”

Lorne and BJ have judged the school energy fair, spoke to the grade 3 and 4 class every year about oil and gas in the Tilley region, and they have continued to support the school’s environmental projects supplying donations for rechargeable batteries, greenhouses and compost bins.

Most recently, with advice from CAPP’s Energy in Action program, Janice and her students took advantage of BP Canada’s A+ for Energy grant and got more support from Enerplus to write, illustrate, and publish “The Enchanted Drill Bit,” a children’s book about the oil and gas industry and its products. The school will continue to seek industry support for environmental initiatives such as installing low-flow faucets and toilets in the washrooms so teachers, parents and students can learn more about the decisions everyone can make to reduce water and electricity use.

“These students are educators and mentors and it’s a privilege to work with a school that has such a passion for learning,” said Enerplus’ Arnold. “Enerplus is looking forward to continuing its relationship with the entire Tilley community for many years to come.”

Since 2004, 52 companies and more than 1,629 company volunteers have participated in Energy in Action events in 49 communities across Canada. Together they have planted nearly 4,700 trees and shrubs, and taught close to 5,000 students about energy resources and the benefits of careful resource development.

Environmental Sustainability One Seed At A Time

Students from Carnduff Education Complex pose in front of their school sign after planting over 120 trees and shrubs during the school’s Energy in Action day on May 6th. Principal Ryan Nichols and leaders of the school community council worked with volunteers from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers to create an outdoor garden oasis, where students will learn how to be good stewards of their schoolyard and community environment. Photo: Kristian Jones

Story by: Kimberly Gray
Communications Co-op Student,  Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

What do you get when you cross Canadian oil and gas companies with students in rural communities? Engagement, connection and inspiration.

During the month of May, for the seventh year in a row, the Energy in Action program traveled through eight communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Its purpose is to teach students about the petroleum industry, careful resource development and the importance of environmental stewardship.

Facilitated by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and various oil and gas companies, Energy in Action visited 11 schools in the three western provinces this year – in Alberta: Drayton Valley, Heart Lake First Nation, Lac La Biche, Anzac and Cold lake; in Saskatchewan: Carnduff and in British Columbia: Fort Nelson and Dawson creek.

Although every event was a little different, a typical Energy in Action day started out with a presentation about natural resources delivered by Inside Education. Students learned the differences between renewable and non-renewable resources as well as ways that they could be better environmental stewards.

Afterward, the students were able to put their new knowledge to the test, by going outside into their schoolyards to plant trees, shrubs and flowers. At some schools the kids planted vegetables, which they will harvest and donate to their schools’ nutritional programs or their local food bank.

“The program is about more than one day of planting,” says Energy in Action coordinator, Laura Perry. “It’s about building relationships and helping communities define and sustain their environmental vision.”

At some schools, Energy in Action added a new element to enhance the stewardship experience – noted Calgary “Birdman” Andrew Stiles. As a bird expert and devoted naturalist, Stiles taught the students how to recognize native birds in their area. He also built bird boxes with the children to attract birds that have been displaced from their traditional nesting sites.

Mathieu Côté, a grade seven student at Anzac Community School, recalls his Energy in Action day: “it was great to learn about stewardship and the environment in my community, but my favourite part was building the bird boxes because I got to work with my hands.”

The students aren’t the only ones who are benefiting from Energy in Action. The program is a great opportunity for companies to initiate or strengthen their relationships with the communities in which they operate.

“Energy in Action captures our commitment as an industry to working with kids on environmental stewardship,” says Jason Veness, stakeholder engagement, ConocoPhillips Canada. “It’s a great way for us to work positively with the community toward common goals and interests and to leave a legacy piece behind.”

For educators, Energy in Action harnesses a sense of caring and engagement with both their students and participating companies.

“This program is what all schools need,” says Kim Desmerais, a fourth grade teacher at Evergreen Elementary in Drayton Valley. “It’s a great community-business connection that enhances our environment.”

Since 2004, 52 companies and more than 1,629 company volunteers have participated in events in 49 communities across Canada. Together they have planted nearly 4,700 trees and shrubs, and taught close to 5,000 students about energy resources and the benefits of careful resource development.

More than a garden

Herb gardens, pumpkin patches, new spruce trees – these are just some of the results of a hard day’s work for elementary students participating in the Energy in Action Program.

The Energy in Action program is a collaborative endeavour of oil and gas companies under the auspices of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). The program spreads the message of environmental stewardship to students in grades four to six through an interactive classroom experience and a hands-on environmental project. In May, 35 oil and gas companies participated in events in 11 communities in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Besides spreading the stewardship message, the program also gives the students a better understanding of where energy comes from.

This happens during the first half of the day in the classroom with the help of CAPP’s education partner, Inside Education, a not-for-profit society that provides natural resources and environment education focused on forests, water, energy and related topics.

“It’s a fabulous program,” says Inside Education senior educator Anne Logan. “Everywhere we go we’re making a huge difference.”

Logan expands on what the kids are learning about sustainability in the regular social studies curriculum giving additional information on where energy comes from and how it is used in our everyday lives – information that often comes as a big surprise.

“(The kids) don’t always know all the products that are made from petroleum or that their furnaces burn natural gas,” says Logan, adding that by grade six they have a stronger understanding of the industry.

The program gives students a balanced presentation of Canada’s energy sources. A play teaches them how to get petroleum out of the ground and objects made from both the renewable and non-renewable energy industry are passed around the classroom.

According to Logan, while many of the students may be aware of pollution concerns associated with non-renewable energy they are often unaware of the numerous benefits and challenges related to the use of both renewable and non-renewable sources. Logan explains that, at their age, the students aren’t exposed to the economic, social and political issues surrounding energy development so it is up to the Energy in Action teachers to bring some balance into the discussion.

“We talk to them about how nothing is perfect, even wind and that each one of them has pros and cons,” says Logan. “They don’t understand that we can’t meet our energy needs just with renewables – we try and get them to see both sides.”

With the seed of stewardship planted during the morning’s lesson, the kids are able to cultivate this new knowledge through an outdoor activity that has meaning to their school and community. In each community, the kids take on a unique environmental project with the help of representatives from oil and gas companies with operations in the area, their teachers and community volunteers.

“All these communities have an environmental vision and if we can help them or participate in that, that’s what stewardship is all about,” says Energy in Action coordinator Laura Perry. “The program is a good opportunity for the kids to experience stewardship first hand and make a difference.”

For Perry, this year’s visit to Beaverlodge, Alberta is an ideal example of how Energy in Action gets entire communities excited about stewardship and fulfills CAPP’s vision of groups working together to complete the project and make it sustainable. Beaverlodge students planted spruce saplings along the river banks of a local farmer’s property with the help of the local municipality, Alberta Conservation, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, their teachers and representatives from ConocoPhillips, EnCana, Talisman, Canadian Natural Resources, Devon Canada and Bonavista.

In other cases, the stewardship activity is focused closer to home in the students’ schoolyard. Through Energy in Action concrete schoolyards are transformed into vibrant gardens and, in some cases, outdoor classrooms with shade trees, benches, sundials and weather stations.

As Anne Logan points out, “For some of these schools they didn’t have much in their schoolyards so this will make a big difference.”

Besides building knowledge of the energy industry and spreading the word about stewardship, the program also has benefits for participating companies. “Companies get to know the communities where they’re operating and get the opportunity to get to know the local town councils and get to know each other,” says Perry. Establishing these relationships helps the companies work better with each other and with the community on issues related to their operations in the area such as noise or environmental impacts.