A drawing by Island student Lindsay Clow showing easy ways Canadians can help save energy will be featured in a national calendar next year.
The Grade 6 student at Grand Tracadie Elementary School won the Prince Edward Island poster contest for the 2006 Energy and the Environment calendar produced each year by Natural Resources Canada to encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The theme of the poster contest for the 2006 calendar was Take part in the One-Tonne Challenge - it’s easy, it’s fun! The One-Tonne Challenge encourages Canadians to take action on climate change by reducing their individual greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne or about 20 percent. Lindsay’s poster, entitled Save Energy, Anyone Can Do It, suggests that you can meet the challenge by turning off the lights when you leave the room; hanging your clothes on the clothesline to dry instead of using a dryer; remembering the three Rs: reduce, re-use and recycle; and turning off the computer when you leave the house or go to bed.
“Lindsay’s artwork delivers an important message,” said Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry Jamie Ballem. “People often think they have to do big things to save energy and reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. But if everyone followed the few small steps Lindsay suggests, it would make a big difference.”
Minister Ballem visited Grand Tracadie Elementary School this week to present Lindsay with her prizes. In addition to having her artwork featured in the 2006 Energy and the Environment calendar, the 11-year-old student received a mounted copy of her artwork; a watch featuring NRCat, the energy efficiency mascot; and a dynamo flashlight which is recharged simply by shaking it. The school also received a mounted copy of Lindsay’s artwork.
The Energy and the Environment calendar features one drawing from each province and territory. Approximately 135,000 calendars are distributed to households, schools and businesses across Canada. Copies of the 2006 calendar will be available at Access PEI sites in late fall. To learn more about energy, energy efficiency and climate change, Island students, teachers and parents can visit the CalendarClub website at http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/CalendarClub.