A report by teacher Jenna Olley and a class from Centre Wellington District High School would like to see the Upper Grand District School Board be a net zero school board by 2050.
In a survey 66.7 per cent of students think schools should transition to have 100 per cent renewable energy.
Another 66.7 per cent of students said they feel fear and sadness when they think of the reality of climate change. With 51.3 per cent of students who would strongly support if the UGDSB declares a climate emergency.
The report was to be presented to the school board's business operations committee on Tuesday.
The inspiration for the report was the 2018 intergovernmental panel on climate change, impacts of climate change on mental health and UGDSB’s responsibility for their students.
The aim from the report is for UGDSB to declare a climate emergency, hire a sustainability lead for the board and create a pathway to net zero by 2050.
In a case study, James McQueen Public School in Fergus spent $1,203.27 in November on electricity. CWDHS spent $24,542.63 in October on electricity.
If each of the schools had solar panels installed James McQueen would save $651,587 over 25 years on electricity and CWDHS would save $3,706,277, according to the report.
Students shared their remarks on the issue of climate change within their schools.
“Schools should be the first ones to use renewable energy and serve as an example to educate the future generations,” said one student.
“As of right now and for such a long time I’ve felt like my classmates and I won’t be afforded the future of past generations because it feels like the people in power don’t care,” said another student.
In another report presented to the board on Tuesday, a detailed table of energy usage in the board’s school was outlined.
UGDSB has reported their energy usage. CWDHS used 1,069,855.04 kilowatts hours per 173,148.63 square feet. The school had the most electricity usage throughout the board in the 2020 to 2021 school year. Hyland Heights Kinderpack used 6,088 kilowatt hours of electricity per 2,529.52 square feet. This makes them the school that used the least amount of electricity in the board.
