Showcasing Green Careers in the Classroom and Beyond

March 24, 2023

Their mission is to educate, inspire, and assist individuals and communities in building a 100% renewable energy future. Their vision? A healthy, prosperous planet led by informed citizens and powered by renewable energy sources.

Relay Education is a Canadian charity that delivers programming to students across the country on topics such as conservation, climate change, renewable energy and green careers.

Provided by Relay Education. https://relayeducation.com/

In the Classroom

Through a combination of workshops, field trips, and design challenges, students in grades four to eight are given opportunities to learn about the environment both online and offline.

Teachers can register their classrooms for workshops like Capture the Wind, which explores how turbines transform wind into energy.

In this hands-on workshop, students learn about basic circuits, the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy, the greenhouse effect, how wind turbines are built, and they even get to run experiments using mini wind turbines.

Digest This! is another workshop that gives students an up-close experience with science. This workshop dives deep into how the digestion of organic waste is used as a form of renewable energy. By using a bio-digester as an example, this workshop explores how these digesters work and how they can help reduce our impact on the environment.

Students get the chance to make solutions that cause chemical changes and learn lab techniques on how to measure the mass of solids and the volumes of liquids.

For high school students, one workshop focuses on Green Careers—jobs that are centered on sustainability, environment, and other fields that directly help people and the planet.

Green Collar Careers gives students in grades nine to twelve an opportunity to compare their skills, interests, and passions with 40 different fields—all related to sustainability and the environment. They also get the chance to assess the educational requirements for these careers and learn how technology is changing the way we work.

Co-Developing Programming with Indigenous Communities

Relay Education also works with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities to co-develop programs that are educational and focused on building skills.

The Indigenous youth programs are for students in all grades and are focused on wind and solar power. 

Concentrate on Conservation is one of the workshops available and can be tailored to students in grades one through twelve. 

In this workshop, students learn about the common usages of energy, over-consumption, and how solar panels and wind turbines work. They also learn about how the angle of the solar panel or wind turbine can affect their energy output.

Outside of the classroom, Relay Education offers programs to Indigenous communities.

According to their website, “Renewable energy projects across Canada are being led by Indigenous communities or being developed in close proximity to, or in partnership with Indigenous communities. We believe these projects should be developed with as much participation and support from the local community and individual community members as possible. Relay Education has co-developed and co-delivered programs with First Nations communities since 2014.”

One of those projects took place in 2016 in Bkejwanong Territory, Walpole Island First Nation. For several months, the Relay Education team put on some community events in partnership with the Employment and Training office. They also hosted some workshops and presentations as part of the Walpole Island Energy Education Initiative.

Beyond the Classroom

While the majority of Relay Education’s programming takes place inside classrooms, there are also opportunities for anyone interested in the environment to participate. You can take the Green Career Quiz to see what type of green career may be best for you: https://relayeducation.com/green-career-quiz/

The questions ask you what some of your skills are, where you prefer to work, and what you’re interested in.

In the warmer months, they also host some events. Visit their website to see when details about upcoming events are available.

If you want to learn more about what the Relay Education team is up to or listen to them interview industry experts, you can read their blog or listen to their podcast In the Green Chair.

Relay Education is powered by donations and Pattern Canada is a proud supporter. If you are interested in donating, more information can be found HERE.