NJ Macpherson School
Grade 5 students at NJ Macpherson School in the Northwest Territories are installing solar panels to renewably power the lights in their outdoor learning buildings.
NJ Macpherson School
Grade 5 students at NJ Macpherson School in the Northwest Territories are installing solar panels to renewably power the lights in their outdoor learning buildings.
The Problem
NJ Macpherson School has several outdoor seacans and tents that they use for their Indigenous Language and Education program. However, the buildings are too far from the school to be hooked up to its power grid, so for many years their lighting was reliant on diesel generators, which cost a lot to run and created a lot of emissions!
The Solution
A student team conducted research on more sustainable energy alternatives and came up with a plan to power the LED lights with small solar panels and batteries instead! Now they have a more sustainable and cheaper power source for their buildings and they’ve learned about how emissions reduction and cost savings can be tangibly achieved. The students hope their project can be an example for their community for how more sustainable energy systems can be implemented!
6
students and teachers worked directly on the project
361
students and 52 teachers were engaged at their school in learning about the solar project and its impact on reducing emissions and costs!
Lessons Learned
“Just the fact that such young students are engaged and are advocates for a cleaner tomorrow I think is one of the best things that has happened because of this initiative.”
Mr. Caines, Principal at NJ Macpherson
“We are going to use solar panels for the lights in our tent because we don’t want to use up the fossil fuels and solar energy is renewable.”
Lucas, Student
