Verdun students showcase year-long project — a futuristic eco-village
Students at Verdun Elementary School say they don't want "hope" for a better future, they want action, and they spent a year working on what that might look like.
The students painstakingly built a model community that would be more eco-friendly than current ones.
Grade 6 student Azilis Le Bouder looked to the words of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, which overlook the model city: "I want you to act as if the house is on fire because it is."
"There's plastic in the ocean, there's pollution. Everywhere, in some places you have to wear masks too. It's not normal," Le Bouder said.
She decided to rebuild the school to be more eco-friendly — that meant putting beehives on the roof to help give bees a safe habitat.
"They live better in the city. Like, there are less pesticides in the city than in the country. That's like insane," she said.
The students have been working on the project since September. They've researched what can go into the buildings to lessen people's impact on the environment.
Grade 4 student Bryanna Monroe-Macdonald built a model house with solar panels. She thinks adults should decide to cut back on plastic and electricity use.
Meanwhile, classmate Corentin Sauvant decided to install large windows in his to curb the need for a lot of electricity.
She said that she'd like to see people buy fewer things that have to travel to get to the market, "because that pollutes."
While creating something tangible for the project, students have gained insights into the climate crisis and the patterns of behaviour contributing to it.
"Try not to waste. And try not to use as much plastic as we're using right now. And try not to use a lot of electricity," Grade 4 student Bryanna Monroe-Macdonald said.
The mini-village will be on display at Quai 5160, the Verdun cultural centre, until the end of the week.
