École Notre Dame High School Students Met with Premier Notley

Students  from  École  Notre  Dame  High  School participated in a Virtual Town Hall discussion about climate change with Premier Notley on Wednesday, March 16th, 2016. The Town Hall Meeting was hosted live from Queen Elizabeth High School in Edmonton with schools from around the province joining virtually via video conferencing.

École Notre Dame High School is one of 7 schools selected in the province to help co-author a White Paper on climate change with  Premier Notley. Premier  Notley  said,  “I  gained  a  lot  of  insight,  and  heard  some  very  thought-provoking questions: from how we can look at more ways to teach the science of climate change in schools, to how we can work with other organizations to invest in renewable energy.”

Sydney Thackeray, a student from École Notre Dame High School, said, “We think that climate leadership is immensely important; especially in Alberta in an oil and gas industry.” She asked: “What does being a climate leader mean to you? How do you personally incorporate this into your work and your life?” Notley explained that being a climate leader is a big part of her life and she is working hard to change the direction of the province so that Alberta is repositioned as a climate leader in our country and our continent. She said, “Our family has made the shift to only have one vehicle, and I try to walk to work as much as possible.”

How should Alberta schools show climate leadership? To answer this important question, the Centre for Global Education and the Alberta Council for Environmental Education (ACEE) have partnered to engage with 3000 Alberta students. This collaborative online project engages students in dialogue with their peers and external resources as they explore the topic.

The White Paper, that the École Notre Dame High School students will co-author, lays out opportunities for climate leadership in Alberta, changes in the K-12 education system to show climate leadership, and recommendations on how schools can demonstrate climate leadership.

Our students are having their voices heard by our government leaders. They are influencing change at the provincial level. Principal Pamela Guilbault said, “This valuable work is very validating and empowering to our student leaders.”

*Press Release from Lakeland Catholic School District