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Admaston Public School, a K-8 school outside Renfrew with 160 students, is the most energy-efficient school in Ontario and the third-most energy efficient in Canada! So say the results of a pilot project by the Canada Green Building Council that involved 32 school boards and 320 K-12 schools from six provinces and territories.
Admaston is partly heated and cooled by ground-source heat pumps – a costly investment that is paying off over the long-term in energy savings. As Grade 3/4 teacher Scott Rubie, leader of the school’s greening initiatives points out, Admaston’s projects not only save energy and thus help the environment, they also set a great example to others – especially the school’s students.
Scott Rubie is passionate about the need for schools to demonstrate opportunities to promote social change. He points out, “The schools are buildings which can provide public demonstration platforms for alternate energy technologies. In addition to the heat pumps, the large school roofs are excellent surfaces for solar panels.”
Mr. Rubie’s background is in science; he began his working career as a fisheries biologist. A teacher for 25 years now, he’s convinced of the need for schools to teach our children how to take action – and to empower them with a voice. He’s well aware of the positive force created when children learn things at school that they then take home and teach to their parents. He recalls his own dawning environmental awareness when he read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring at high school in the late 1970s.
Students and staff at Admaston will celebrate their status as Ontario’s most energy-efficient school and other accomplishments during Earth Week this year (April 20-24)with a variety of special events. A presentation by the school’s Environmental Club on habitat loss and climate change will help everyone appreciate the value of of a new 5,000-square-foot garden for native species of trees, flowers, herbs and shrubs. The garden will be a “mini habitat” that will attract birds and insects.
This “mini habitat” will also serve as an area for student observation and study.
During Earth Week students will spend some time gardening and planting sunflower seeds. The week will be capped off by a special visit by James Brose, Renfrew County Board of Education plant manager, to officially announce Admaston’s first place finish in the Canada Green Building Council energy efficiency pilot project.
According to Scott Rubie there are several forces at work in the Admaston PS community that contribute to the energy and initiatives now taking place there.
Rubie points out that plant manager James Brose works very hard to ensure county schools lead the way on energy initiatives. Principal Lisa Murphy and teaching staff at the school are enthusiastic about environmental projects. Mr. Rubie is an energetic proponent of “greening,” the students are keen, and local parents are actively involved. The school also has the support of its municipal leaders.
Finally, the Ontario government recently launched an Environmental Framework for Ontario schools that teacher Rubie is hopeful they really mean business about.
It all puts me in mind of Albert Schweitzer, who said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it’s the only thing.” Admaston Public School is certainly setting a fantastic example! Janet McNeill is a member of the Ottawa River Institute, a nonprofit, charitable organization based in the Upper Ottawa Valley. ORI is supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, local donors and volunteers. For more information please see the ORI website at www.ottawariverinstitute.ca
Copyright 2009 – The Observer