Earth Month with Educator Alison Wagler

With the support of our partner BC Hydro, Science World spotlights teachers leading their communities with clean energy mindsets and power smart practices for a brighter future.

Earth Week

Alison Wagler didn’t grow up as an environmental activist.

Prior to 2016, she didn’t think much about energy conservation or climate change. In her twenty-three years leading elementary school classrooms—through the digital revolution and its impact on learning—her focus has always been determined by  her students’ passions. As she says, “I follow their passion, because their passion is their ‘why.’ Unless they’re following their ‘why,’ they’re just following another rule.”

And then, in 2016, things began to change.

Alison and her husband became the adoptive parents of three children. Suddenly, the world looked like a different place. The future stretched beyond her, to her children, and to her children’s children. “Will they have a beach to sit on? Will they be able to breathe the air?”

She found herself, in addition to her students’ passions, following her own.

When Earth Week rolled around, she yearned for a classroom endeavour that went above and beyond the typical art project or poster about the environment.

She pitched the question to her students, who brainstormed and voted on a list of options, and opted to design and execute their own Power Out Challenge, enlisting other classrooms to join.

“The response was overwhelming,” says Alison.

As Earth Week neared, every single student, teacher, and administrator signed up.

They decided to turn the challenge into a contest—who could go the longest without power for the day? When the question of prizes arose, Alison knew they didn’t have a budget to purchase any. She reached out to BC Hydro.

“They were amazing,” she says, “They went above and beyond, providing gift bags for each of the students in the winning classes with reusable products like straws and towels. It was great.”

Then, on Earth Day, the entire school went dark. “Not just classrooms, but the library, the resource room, everything,” shares Alison.

She recalls the sense of calm that descended upon the school. “It was a very quiet day. It was restful. We worked in natural light without our devices. We got creative with our lessons. It wasn’t a burden at all.”

And, in the end, it was a huge conservation success: in total, Rochester Elementary saved nearly four days' worth of electricity.

And that was just the beginning.

Earth Life

Upon learning she’d be chatting with Science World about Earth Month, Alison asked her youngest son about his ‘why’.

“I said to him, ‘What should I say to Science World about why we should protect the earth?’

“And he said, ‘Mom, tell them, our planet is the only one that has oxygen, and that’s why we have to keep it safe!’” 

Alison always consults with young people about how the best way to approach environmentalism.

And, since that first day with no power, Rochester Elementary has gained a reputation for their inventive Earth Month challenges.

A couple years ago, her students could be seen plogging through the neighbourhood—an activity popularized in Sweden that combines the exercise of jogging with the environmental act of picking up trash.

“This challenge was special to me because it extended beyond our school to include neighbouring families,” says Alison. “It’s not just about ticking off the curriculum; it’s about building a community of care.”

The year after that, their entire district turned down the heat.

“It was an unseasonably cold day, and it was uncomfortable,” says Alison. “But our staff and students stuck it out. Changing our lifestyles isn’t easy. But it’s these daily decisions that will change the future, not another rant or poster for climate change.” 

In the classroom, Alison begins her unit on the environment by centering her students within their favourite places in nature and exploring how they feel when they are there.

“I’ve been privileged to have wonderful friends within the First Nations community,” she says. “And I've been doing a lot of thinking and reading about the ‘why’ behind what we do for the environment.

“It inevitably leads them to the value of gratitude, and to the First Nations who cared for this land for generations. And what will happen if we don’t continue this care. We have a lot to learn from our First Nations friends. I want my students to learn not just to follow the rules of ‘recycle’ and ‘turn off the lights;’ I want them to think about the ‘why’ behind everything they do.”

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Make every day Earth Day.

BC Hydro Power Smart for Schools has free resources for students, teachers, and families to learn all about clean energy.