The Fall 2019 semester at a glance!

Jan 13, 2020

The 2019 fall semester was the busiest yet for us at The Gaia Project! I know, we said the same thing last year, but it is true again! Thanks to the growing support of educators across New Brunswick, our generous funders and the ever increasing engagement of youth, we have been able to continue to grow and reach more New Brunswick students than ever before.

This year youth across N.B. were not only fighting for climate action but also climate change education. Students across the province were participating in the international Friday’s For Future campaign spearheaded by youth climate activist Greta Thunberg. 

This semester in numbers:

Students reached: 8,065

Programs delivered: 338

Schools reached: 78

Outreach events: 2 

Teacher professional learning: 130 teachers

New Program Launch and Success!

This year we were able to launch a new program, Energy Engineers, aimed at students in grades 3-5. This program introduced students at an early age to concepts such as renewable energy, energy demand and electric vehicles all while working on other skills such as collaboration, communication and inquiry based learning. 

One of my grade 4 students, who is usually unmotivated, said “This is the best presentation ever!!

Participating teacher reflecting on the Energy Engineers Program

Success stories!

Sustainability in Action is a high school program which allows students to answer their own sustainability questions about their school. This is our most hands on, results driven program. This semester we ran 25 of these programs, reaching over 500 students. Here are some of the highlights from the 2019 Sustainability in Action projects:

  • A high school student that has never presented in front of their class for years due to anxiety lead a group presentation because they were so passionate about the topic
  • Students presented their schools energy consumption and reduction plan to their principal/district leads
  • A Moncton student presented their plan to mayor Dawn Arnold to help homeless individuals by rallying downtown restaurants together to donate leftover food at the end of the day 
  • Hampton students led an awareness campaign to demonstrate that paper plates from the cafeteria can be composted, reducing the amount of paper plates in the garbage thus far by over 50% (and they are just getting started!)
I liked that the whole purpose of the project was to better our school and environment; it wasn’t just a project for a mark, it had a real purpose and something that can really be put into action

Grade 12 World Issues student from Saint John High

To all teachers and students that requested our programs this semester, we would like to say a huge thank you. To our generous funders, thank you for your on-going commitment to climate change education in New Brunswick. Here’s to another amazing semester, we hope to work with you again soon!

  • The Gaia Project is a wonderful resource that I have been using for many years. They have such a great staff and are truly the most helpful educational resource that I have used in my teaching career.

    Brent Anderson

    Teacher, Deer Island Elementary School

  • I had ideas for helping the environment before, but this workshop really opened my mind and gave me even more motivation and support.

    Student

    Harbour View High School

  • Being a Green Expert volunteer is such a rewarding way to represent the environmental community, especially engaging with young people interested in this future.

    Alyse Wilton

    NB Lung

  • The Gaia Project's Renewable Energy Program for 6th graders is nothing short of exceptional. It combines fun, engagement, and meaningful education in a way that truly resonates with young students.

    Krista McGinn

    Teacher, St. Stephen Middle School

  • The youth of today are the leaders, innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and decision makers of tomorrow. The Gaia Project is a unique organization helping students to understand and take action against this existential threat, now and in the future.

    John Reid

    Volunteer

  • Opportunities with The Gaia Project have helped to bring about real changes, not only in the students' understanding and views of the world around them and their capacity to help, but also in the way the school is actually run as we have made concrete changes in some of our energy consumption strategies and practices.

    Brent Rowney

    Teacher, Oromocto High School

  • Young people have a role in protecting our climate today and tomorrow, this is why we're happy to support The Gaia Project in their mission of empowering youth.

    Krista Han

    Managing Partner - New Brunswick, Grant Thornton LLP

  • Thank you, I told my parents what we did in class and now they want to recycle at home!

    Olivia

    Student, Parkwood Heights Elementary School