The Jasper Jr./Sr. High School sustainability class is inspiring students to become involved in their community, as they prepare to speak at the Living Cities Unconference in Vancouver. 

Teacher Adam Robb said the students are gearing up fundraising efforts to be able to send all 24 class members to the conference, where they will speak about unsustainable development as a result of traditional education. 

The conference’s theme this year is “Our Cities, Our Children.” Robb says the Jasper high school’s attendance at last year’s edition in Seattle had a huge impact on the conference, which is now being steered towards youth involvement. 

“If you look at the things going on in the world right now, youth are a pretty powerful voice,” Robb said. 

The students have a number of fundraising ideas already. On March 16, the students went door to door across Jasper and collected change for a penny drive. The class has applied to the Rotary Club for funding, and VIA Rail for train tickets. The class also hosted a community dinner at the Jasper Activity Centre on March 13, where the students put on live entertainment. 

“I want to get 24 kids there, with no cost to them,” Robb said. Last year there were five students involved in the sustainability club that later turned into a year-long class. “All the kids are really wanting to go.”

The sustainability class has a few other exciting plans for the coming months. On April 14 to 16, the class will co-host a youth community sustainability conference at the Palisades. The event is being put on by Parks Canada and the Grand Yellowhead Public School Division. Kids from all over Alberta and eastern B.C. will be attending to hear a presentation from keynote speaker Dr. John Francis. Dr. Francis spoke at the Seattle Living Cities Unconference in 2010. 

“His message is just really positive, we’re lucky to get him,” Robb said. 

Parks Canada is hosting the conference to allow students to look into projects it has on the go. 

“It’s a really good partnership there,” Robb said. 

While the school awaits news about funding for the new building, Robb and his class are preparing to create a community vision of what the students want their future school to look like. 

“It’s interesting to see how their [the students’] opinions differ from the adults in the community,” Robb said. “They call it like it is.”

The school board has said that the architect chosen to create the school will be picked only if they are willing to speak with the community to develop a facility that truly reflects the wishes of the students, parents, and residents of Jasper. Robb said it’s a great idea to engage the very people that will use the building.

“I think it’s a really great way for the process to happen,” he said. 

Right now the students are working on a unit on consumerism and local food. They have also studied energy and natural resource development. Robb said the kids pick units to work on based on their interests, which range from sustainable tourism, architecture, social sustainability and more. One of the great benefits of the class has been the students becoming inspired to get involved in the community. 

“It’s great that we can get the kids out in the community,” Robb said. “We want kids to drop the apathy and get involved.”

Student representatives from the class attended the public forum on the Glacier Discovery Walk held at the Jasper Yellowhead Musem and Archives on March 14. 

“Some of the students are very concerned about this development and the potential precedence that this development might set,” Robb said. “Overall though, everyone wants information about the issue.”

The students hosted a Speak Out forum at the activity centre to engage their peers on how to improve education in the province. The forum was held in partnership with Community Outreach Services. 

The class discussions have been a highlight of the first year for Robb. The class has been a learning experience not just for the students. 

“I’m just learning as we go,” he said. “We’re learning together.”

The teacher has been doing his best to simply guide the students to accept each other’s ideas. The challenge has been that there are “no answers at the back of the book,” he said. 

While Jasper may seem like an ideal location for a sustainability class, Robb said he thinks the idea could take off in any town. 

“I really, really think it would work in any community in Canada,” he said. “I think there’s a real gap between the real world and the classroom.”

Next year, Robb hopes the class can engage other communities and possibly see more high school clubs pop up. 

To help spread the message, the class has been creating videos on YouTube, under the name JasperSCY. So far this year, they have created a video on the Sustainability Workshop that was held in November. The class hopes to create three based on their Vancouver trip; one of which may include another flash mob dance as was done in 2010 on Patricia St. 

Robb said utilizing social media is important in spreading the class’ message. 

“Social media is kind of the easiest way to spread this message,” he said.