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!

  • 2018-2019 School-wide Compostable Soil

    Arbour Lake School

    Compost creation! This year, students at Arbour Lake School are hoping to enhance the garden boxes that they built last year by creating compost out of organic waste produced at the school. Through their project they hope to inspire others in the school to reduce the amount of waste that they produce.


  • 2018-2019 Springbank Hill Mini Forest Animal Cam

    Griffith Woods School

    The Earth Wolves Environmental Club is wondering how the development of a new park near their local forest will impact the animal species that live there. They will work with local experts, including community groups and Indigenous Elders, to monitor what animals use the forest and how the increased presence of humans affects other species.


  • 2018-2019 Sustainability Indoor Composting Project

    Noble Central School

    Students from kindergarten to grade 12 are working together to increase the amount of food waste that they compost at their school. They realised that their current compost system was only working in the warmer summer months and wanted to compost year-round. The funding from the Student Action Challenge will allow students to purchase worm compost bins, to be used in the winter months. This is part of a larger project, which includes the building of a greenhouse and gardens.


  • 2017 - 2018 Classroom Composting

    School: Fort McMurray Islamic School, Fort McMurray

    Composting with worms can be a little slow, especially since they are picky eaters! Students at Fort McMurray Islamic School are creating a new composting program to help reduce food waste and allow dairy, meat, and grain to be composted. Automatic Food Cyclers will help reduce organic waste by turning it into compost, which will be used in classroom experiments and in the school garden.

  • 2017 - 2018 Climate Literacy through Meatless Mondays

    School: Robert Thirsk High School, Calgary

    Students at Robert Thirsk High School have identified that sometimes the food that we buy at the store has to take a huge, carbon-fueled trip to get to the shelf. To reduce their carbon footprint they will build a tower garden to produce many of their menu items in house. Coupled with their Meatless Monday program, they are demonstrating that small changes in our diets can have a large effect on climate change.

  • 2017 - 2018 EcoBricks

    School: Collingwood Elementary, Calgary

    Plastic is a pretty harmful material when it comes to the environment. Collingwood Elementary students will focus on recycling and reusing plastic to reduce waste and demonstrate how much plastic waste is produced at their school. They will be reusing the waste plastic from their school to construct furniture for everyone to use.

  • 2017 - 2018 Living Wall & Youth Wavemakers

    School: Arbour Lake School, Calgary

    What’s better than a living wall that produces fruits and vegetables for students to eat? A self-powered one! Solar panels will be used to power recycled water from students’ bottles to water plants on the living wall. This will not only reduce the school’s carbon footprint by producing their greens in-house, but it will also reuse ‘waste’ water in a fun and educational way.

  • 2017 - 2018 Pocketful of Sunshine

    School: Highwood School, Calgary

    Why is it important to conserve energy? Students at Highwood School will create solar projects to see firsthand the power of renewable energy. Students will showcase what they learn by creating StopMotion movies in both English and Mandarin.

  • 2017 - 2018 Power Plants

    School: W.O. Mitchell Elementary School, Calgary

    All schools in Calgary are now required to compost all of their organic waste in green bins. Instead of disposing of their old compost boxes, students at W.O Mitchell Elementary School have a plan to transform them into vegetable gardens. With support from elders in the community they will be looking into cooking their produce using renewable energy.

  • 2017 - 2018 Project Bird, Bats & Bugs

    School: Red Deer Lake School, Foothills

    How can you enhance biodiversity in your community? Students at Red Deer Lake School are taking charge to better understand the species in their local park. After researching the local birds, bats, and insects, students will construct houses for the local species.

    It doesn’t stop there though! To make sure that they are attracting the right species to the park they plan to grow native flowering plants in boxes. Students will maintain what they have built and observe the species that use the created habitat, while share sightings with visitors of the park.