St. Albert has joined a national coalition to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.
City council voted Monday night to join the Partners for Climate Protection Program, a group of about 150 communities committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The program is part of an international effort by municipalities to fight climate change.
This was one of the goals outlined in the city’s environmental master plan, said environmental manager Leah Jackson, speaking to council. The program offers a five-step framework to track and reduce emissions, as well as expertise and grants from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The program is well recognized and has been successfully rolled out in 11 Alberta communities, including Edmonton.
Coun. Carol Watamaniuk said it was great to be a part of this universally accepted program. “I especially like the money part!” she joked.
The program features a number of milestones and guides that should help St. Albert reduce its emissions, said Mark Brostrom, director of Edmonton’s office of the environment.
But it is a daunting task, he emphasized. “It’s a significant commitment to go out and develop a community program for reducing emissions.”
Edmonton has struggled to reach the target it set under the program due to population growth; its emissions are now about 37 per cent above 1990 levels, instead of six below as it had hoped. Still, a combination of rebates and education campaigns had kept about 18,600 tonnes of emissions out of the air.
The first thing St. Albert should do is to get its own emission house in order, Brostrom said. Corporate emission cuts are easy to do, he said, and pay off immediately in terms of energy efficiency. Education campaigns should focus on practical advice that teaches homeowners how to use less energy.
St. Albert has asked Stantec Consulting to do an inventory of St. Albert’s greenhouse gas emissions at a budgeted cost of about $30,000, Jackson said. That report should be available later this year. Once done, the city would then create plans to reduce its corporate and community emissions, implement them, and monitor progress.
It will be an uphill battle to cut the city’s emissions, Jackson said in an interview, noting the struggles of Edmonton. The city could succeed if it focused on reducing car use through transit and smart growth. “Being smaller, I think we have a better chance.”
Muriel Martin students will soon learn math in the great outdoors thanks to a city environmental grant.
City Coun. Len Bracko dropped by Muriel Martin Elementary Tuesday to present students with a $3,500 cheque to create an outdoor classroom. The money comes from the city’s environmental initiatives grant program.
It was former principal Norm Elicksen who came up with the idea for the classroom, says Peggy Bergmann, the current principal. “The idea is to take kids outside and do something outside with them.”
The school has a sheltered outdoor spot that it’s already furnished with tables, Bergmann says. They plan to add rocks, native plants, a rain-barrel and a composter to it using the grant.
All of these items can be worked into lessons on geology, waste reduction, math and science, she says. Students will also work with artist Lewis Lavoie to decorate the classroom with murals.
One of those murals will likely have a sailing theme in honour of Elicksen, Bergmann says, who died last year. “It was his dream to have the outdoor classroom,” she said, and he collected sailboats.
