Environmental Student Action Challenge

Do you have an idea for a project that could reduce the environmental footprint of your school? Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA) could help make it happen!

The Environmental Student Action Challenge invites Alberta students from grades K -12 to develop a school-based initiative or project that will help minimize negative human impacts to the environment.

Students are invited to submit their project ideas for a chance to win up to $1,000 that can be used to turn their proposal into a reality – and give them hands-on experience tackling an environmental issue that directly impacts them, their school or their community. The Government of Alberta will award up to $20,000 in funding annually to successful applicants to support their environmental action projects.

Successful applicants will be selected from each school level (Division 1, 2, 3, 4).

Participating teams are invited to contribute to the online learning community! Provide real-time project updates, share tips, ask questions and inspire new levels of learning – the provincial Environmental Student Action Challenge community is a great way to explore new ideas throughout the school year.

This website is continuously updated with information to help you with your application, so check back often!

Do you have an idea for a project that could reduce the environmental footprint of your school? Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA) could help make it happen!

The Environmental Student Action Challenge invites Alberta students from grades K -12 to develop a school-based initiative or project that will help minimize negative human impacts to the environment.

Students are invited to submit their project ideas for a chance to win up to $1,000 that can be used to turn their proposal into a reality – and give them hands-on experience tackling an environmental issue that directly impacts them, their school or their community. The Government of Alberta will award up to $20,000 in funding annually to successful applicants to support their environmental action projects.

Successful applicants will be selected from each school level (Division 1, 2, 3, 4).

Participating teams are invited to contribute to the online learning community! Provide real-time project updates, share tips, ask questions and inspire new levels of learning – the provincial Environmental Student Action Challenge community is a great way to explore new ideas throughout the school year.

This website is continuously updated with information to help you with your application, so check back often!

  • 2021-2022 Big Impacts Start with Tiny Changes at Home, New Myrnam School, New Myrnam

    New Myrnam students are going to have a big impact with their tiny home project this year. In collaboration with local experts, student are designing and building a net-zero tiny house out of a school bus. Students will learn real-world skills to reduce their carbon footprint and make an environmental difference. Once their project is complete, they’ll share their results with the local Village Council to help inform future developments.

  • 2021-2022 Beekeeping and Pollinator Garden Project, Collingwood School, Calgary

    Students at Collingwood School are buzzing with excitement for their Student Action Challenge project! They’ll create bee habitat by planting native flowers and shrubs in their school yard, and even bringing in a bee hive! It’s not just the honeybees that will benefit from this project. The native plants will increase habitat and biodiversity in the area, creating a more resilient ecosystem and extensive learning opportunities. Students will BEE sure to share their knowledge with local gardeners and parents as the project progresses.

  • 2021-2022 Alternate Energy Challenge, Career & Technology Centre, Calgary

    Energy education is the focus of high school students at the Career & Technology Centre this year. Students will be designing and building wind turbine and solar cell prototypes to help them learn what energy systems work best in different situations. Once they discover which options work best, they’ll create educational kits to share with neighboring schools and deliver virtual presentations to share their knowledge.

  • 2021-2022 Acrylic Paint Filter, Canmore Collegiate High School, Canmore

    High school students at Canmore Collegiate are understandably concerned about the impact that microplastics are having on their local waterways and are determined to address the issue. Through their Student Action Challenge project, they will be preventing plastic waste from entering the environment by designing and implementing a system to filter microplastics from acrylic paints. But the students won’t stop there. Once they perfect their system, they’ll be reaching out to other schools to share their knowledge and encourage them to use the filters in their own schools, amplifying their positive environmental impact.

  • 2020-2021 Trailbuilders, Peace Wapiti Academy, Grande Prairie

    High school students in Grande Prairie are rolling up their sleeves and giving back to their local community this year. They have partnered with the Wapiti Nordic Ski Centre to help maintain over 50 km of trail around their community. While completing the trial maintenance, they will learn about erosion, responsible recreation and the importance of trials in minimizing human impact on the environment.

  • 2020-2021 Tower Garden, Senator Riley Middle School, High River

    Grade 7 students at Senator Riley Middle School want to make their gardens are efficient as possible to reduce the energy required to grow local produce. With funding from the Student Action Challenge, they will be building a tower garden and initiating a growing experiment to determine how to grow produce in the most economic and environmentally friendly way possible: planting vegetables outside in a traditional garden or planting them inside in a tower garden.

  • 2020-2021 Solar Sky, Bow Valley High, Cochrane

    The students at Bow Valley High are taking the first step in creating a renewable-energy Solar Sky this year. They will use funding from the Student Action Challenge to create a solar station on an outbuilding in the school’s football field, reducing the carbon footprint of the school and providing a space for classes to integrate solar energy into their teaching. This as the first step in a larger sustainable energy initiative.

  • 2020-2021 Shipping Container Garden, Career and Technology Centre, Calgary

    Students at the Career and Technology Centre are getting into the nitty-gritty of indoor gardens with their Student Action Challenge project this year. Using a shipping container, they will test the advantages and disadvantages of different types of indoor growing: from passive solar to electronically controlled conditions. Their project will test the productivity of plant growth in each garden as well as the amount of electricity required. In the end, they will have a reliable data set that outlines what type of growing situation has the smallest environmental footprint. The results of their experiment will be shared through a report for the school board recommending best practices for new indoor growing spaces.

  • 2020-2021 Roofs 4 Kids Educational Pollinator Garden, Lacombe Composite High School, Lacombe

    Gardens galore! Students at Lacombe Composite High School are expanding their outdoor learning space by planting native herbs and medicinal seedlings, creating food and shelter for pollinators and other types of wildlife. They will be partnering with local experts, including Elders, to learn more about the environmental benefits and ecosystem services that these plants offer.

  • 2020-2021 Outdoor Classroom, Edmonton Christian Northeast School, Edmonton

    Students are going to be taking their learning outside this year with funding from the Student Action Challenge. They will be building an outdoor classroom, which will eventually be used in some capacity by all students within the school. They plan on sharing their love of nature and inspiring environmental stewardship from other students.