(Source: Hampton Elementary Twitter)
A Hampton school is one of two in New Brunswick who have won the 2019 Superpower your School Contest put on by Staples.
Hampton Elementary is one of two schools winning the contest in the region; Samuel De Champlain School in Millidgeville also won.
10 schools across Canada will be receiving $20,000 to go toward technology upgrades for eco-initiatives.
We won the Staples Superpower Your School contest!! $20000 worth of tech for HES 😀😀 Thank you @StaplesCanada 👏 pic.twitter.com/eLuVQWhYEC
— Hampton Elementary (@hamptonelem) April 18, 2019
In Hampton, they’ve been working on a number of projects, like a greenhouse, and recycling and composting programs. They’ve also raised ducklings, raised and released salmon, and run a community garden.
Grade 5 students Hannah Morton and Cecelia Lake say the eco-projects have made them care more about the environment.
“I like being good to the environment and knowing that what we’re doing is for a good cause,” said Morton.
Lake agrees. She says she wants to make the world a better place.
“I don’t like when people go outside and are walking through the trails and just throw their garbage out, so I like going out and picking all the garbage up,” she said.
Sarah Blanchard, Principal of Hampton Elementary says they’ve been doing the eco-initiatives for quite some time.
“We had been a finalist for the past four years, so each year we had kind of kept our fingers crossed, and each year we continue to build the eco-initiatives that we had at Hampton Elementary,” she said.
Blanchard says while the students have some teachers who help supervise the programming, most of the initiatives are student run. Most notably is the greenhouse, which students tend to during recess and lunch. She says its quite a popular spot during the winter due to its warmth.
She also says she’s noticed the passion for environmentalism seep outside of the classroom. Cecelia Lake and her family can often be found cleaning up nearby parks on the weekend.
Blanchard says the students hope to use the money for a new green screen, microphones and iPads to help with the school’s Youtube channel.
