Image credit: Northern Lights Public Schools.

Alternative energy will meet food preparation for some Bonnyville students.

Grade 9 students at Bonnyville Centralized High School will get the chance to explore alternative energy sources for cooking food, thanks to a $3,500 grant from Inside Education’s A+ for Energy Grant Program. 

“I’ve tried building solar ovens from pizza boxes before, but they couldn’t even cook a marshmallow. I thought it would be cool to have an industrial solar cooker to show the power of the sun,” said teacher Jennifer Vermillion, who leads the project. 

Called “Cooking with the Sun”, will see students test a stationary and a portable solar cooker.

They’ll take the data and compare how each operates under different weather conditions and temperatures, observe how long it takes to cook various foods, and any other areas of interest. 

“I really have no idea what results we are going to get,” Vermillion said. “I’ll be learning right alongside the students, and I hope to get other classes and possibly the environmental club involved as well.” 

At the end of the project, students will prepare a locally sourced snack.

Vermillion will also use the grant money to purchase wireless thermometers so students can monitor the cooking process from inside on colder days, and will explore acquiring an infrared camera, to detect hot and cold spots on the cookers.