Rebecca Schulz, the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, was in Airdrie this morning visiting a Grade 4 class to witness how young, innovative Albertans are engaging with environmental issues in their local community.

Today, she learned about the projects Kelly Friesen, a grade 4 teacher and her students at A.E. Bowers Elementary School have been working on with a $1,000 grant they received from the provincial government.

Through the Environmental Student Action Challenge, the government invested $14,000 to help 11 schools run creative projects for students who share a passion for protecting Alberta's air, water, land and biodiversity.

"It was just really exciting to see young kids learning about the importance of water conservation, and just learning about water in general," stated Schulz.

Schulz added that being able to see how the grant has helped these students learn is special.

"We have students learning about the importance of water conservation, invasive species and the importance of not polluting.  Just seeing this love and passion for science and environmental research is pretty cool"

Airdrie

Friesen, who applied for the grant for her students talked about the different activities they have been able to take part in thanks to the funds. .

"We are studying water conservation, checking out Nose Creek Park, doing water quality monitoring, and just learning all about water here in Alberta."

With water being a hot topic right now, with a possible drought looming, Friesen mentioned it's important for kids to understand what's going on.

"This grant is really great opportunity for us to do those extra special projects and it's really wonderful that the Government of Alberta is able to foster that learning in students."

Schools throughout Alberta can submit applications for the grant. Previous initiatives have included establishing native plant gardens to enhance biodiversity and local ecosystems, developing bee habitats through the planting of native flora, and cultivating produce to measure carbon footprints.

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