20 April 2007, Belleville, ON—Caring for the environment is cool. That’s the message students heard as they attended the Chillin’ With the Planet, Caring for Our Community event at Trenton High School earlier today.

This special event had a dual purpose: to celebrate the energy conservation results and to recognize the environmental achievements of students involved in EarthCARE™, the district’s action plan for retrofitting ageing schools with new equipment and systems to make them more energy-efficient, healthier and more attractive places to work and learn. The HPEDSB’s mandate is to enhance facility quality to improve overall teacher effectiveness and impact student achievement, which is part of the Board’s system plan, AiM—Achievement in Motion for Student Success. With energy and school-renewal partner Ameresco Canada Inc., the district has spent approximately $24 million to date to upgrade facilities and conserve energy. The district will invest an additional $28 million to complete the school upgrades.

Board Chair Carl Pitman states, “The school improvements are making a difference. When classrooms are more comfortable, our students feel better and are more alert, which leads to better performance. I’m very happy with the results.”

With phases 1 and 2 of the work completed, the board has achieved 75 percent of the projected energy savings. The remainder of the work will be completed over the next three years. HPEDSB is expected to save $1.6 million by the end of the project. The district has saved over $1 million on utility costs thus far this year, and reduced greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions by 8,050 tonnes, or 35 percent., as compared to 20 percent set under the Kyoto Protocol.

Mario Iusi, President of Ameresco Canada, remarks, “I would like to extend my congratulations to the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board for achieving substantial energy savings and promoting environmental stewardship over the past year.”

Don Tregenza, Controller of Facility Services for the HPEDSB, concurs, “We’ve made great strides in increasing energy efficiency throughout the HPEDSB. Not only is our equipment running better and saving us money on repairs, it’s making the physical environment more comfortable for employees and students.”

EarthCARE was launched in 2005 with Ameresco Canada. EarthCARE is a ground-breaking environmental education program that encourages students, teachers and staff to participate in conservation-focused activities at school and in the community to reduce utility costs and help protect the environment.

During the 2005-06 school year EarthCARE saved the board an additional $150,000 in Lights Off, Computers Off , equivalent to a 1.4-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of planting 46 mature trees. The average reported rates for turning off lights and switching off computers in district schools in the spring of 2006 were 83 percent and 87.7 percent respectively—an increase of nearly 20 percent over the fall 2005 results.

Veronica Ford, EarthCARE project coordinator for HPEDSB, is thrilled with the results. “It’s a pleasure to be part of this exciting program. I’ve watched the students’ enthusiasm grow with each conservation activity. EarthCARE benefits them, the community and the planet.”

Canadian author and photographer Bruce Kirkby was the featured keynote speaker at the Chillin’ with the Planet event. His speech addressed the role of leadership, character building and personal responsibility in caring for the environment, and how every one of us can make a difference through our actions. Additional speakers included Chair of the Board Carl Pitman, Student Trustee Steven Solarz and Student Senator Sara Jackson. There were also student EarthCARE displays, posters, a slideshow featuring EarthCARE activities, a video on recycling, and a drama presentation.

Ameresco Canada Inc. is a facility-renewal and asset-planning company that works in partnership with clients to create customized, innovative and reliable programs that meet or exceed client expectations. With offices nation-wide, the company helps institutional clients renew ageing facilities and reduce energy costs by developing innovative, integrated facility-renewal and asset-planning solutions that promote efficiency and are cost-effective to implement. Ameresco Canada boasts over 30 years of experience in the K-12 education market in Canada. The company has completed more than 150 projects covering over 1,200 schools and generated over $450 million in facility-related savings to date.

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For more information on this event, please contact Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, HPEDSB
at 1-800-267-4350, ext. 2354 or at kdonnell@hpedsb.on.ca.

For more information about EarthCARE, please contact Rose-Marie Batley, Executive Director, EarthCARE at (613) 868-0721 or at rmb@earthcarecanada.com or visit www.earthcarecanada.com

For more information about the Better Schools Partnership, please contact: Tim Cresswell, V.P., Ameresco Canada Inc. at 1-888-483-7267, or at tcresswell@ameresco.com

R - Better Schools Partnership is a registered trademark and property of Ameresco Canada Inc.
TM – EarthCARE, An Environmental Education Partnership is a registered trademark and property of Ameresco Canada Inc.