A couple of Moscrop Secondary portables could one day be powered by the sun if a group of environmentally conscious students gets its way.
Unity for Green, a Moscrop club dedicated to green projects and campaigns within the school, has submitted a proposal to the Great Climate Race to fund solar panels for the school’s two portables.
The Great Climate Race is a new Vancouver running event, scheduled for November, that will help pay for local renewable energy projects.
This month, organizers launched a #PutSolarOnIt campaign, calling for proposals for solar projects.
Moscrop students were quick to answer the call.
“I believe that it would be a great leap towards sustainability for Moscrop if the two portable classrooms were to be run completely by solar power,” Unity for Green executive Bill Xu stated in his club’s pitch. “Even though it will be a long journey until Moscrop is completely run by sustainable energy, I believe that by having the two portables completely run by solar power, Moscrop students and other Burnaby students will be inspired to take more action towards sustainability.”
In the longterm, Xu told the NOW his group would like to pursue converting the whole school to solar.
“We have executives in the younger grades that are willing to take it on,” he said.
Unity in Green sponsor teacher Daniel Tetrault said the success of the portable project could well inspire the district to consider solar elsewhere, but his students’ proposal has to win the contest first.
“It’s a cool thing if it did win, but it’s just in the beginning stages,” he said.
Tertrault said he thinks the district would back the portable plan.
“The costs would be covered,” he said, “and I know the district’s focus has been on cost-saving measures and in being environmentally friendly, so this would fit that bill.”
The #PutSolarOnIt contest runs until Sept. 15. For more information, visit www.greatclimaterace.org.
No one from the school district was available to comment before press time on whether the students’ proposal was feasible.
