Saugeen District Secondary School - Bluewater District School Board

In Conclusion
Along with this work by the Grade 12 CGR 4M class, information from the website for the landmark Dr. David Suzuki
School, will provide a vision for the retrofit of Saugeen District Secondary in Port Elgin.
Members of the Planeteers/ EcoSchool Team, students enrolled in the Grade 12 CGR 4M class and/ or the Energy
Specialist program had plans to travel to see, first-hand, the Dr. David Suzuki School, but due to conflicts and then
inclement weather, have had to put it off the spring. Knowing that Saugeen District Secondary School was to
undergo extensive changes, the intent of the trip was to see first-hand the possibilities in reducing the school’s
ecological footprint – through energy use, water consumption, waste minimization and landscaping.
Dr. David Suzuki Public School has been designed to be a demonstration project, intended to inform and inspire the
future of other educational, institutional, commercial and private building initiatives. (Dr. David Suzuki Public School, 2011,
http://www.suzukipublicschool.ca/overview/about-earth-keepers/about-earth-keepers.html)
When it opened in September 2010, Dr. David Suzuki Public School was the first LEED platinum
school building in Canada, one of a select few in North America, and a magnet for architects,
planners, designers, educational facility developers and others interested in learning about the
newest and most effective energy and environmental green building systems.
(Ibid, http://www.suzukipublicschool.ca/overview/about-earth-keepers/about-earth-keepers.html)
Certainly, we would like S.D.S.S. to incorporate technologies utilized in the building of the Dr. David Suzuki School,
but ultimately we are hoping to set our own course, following the principles of LEED construction:
� sustainable site development
� water efficiency
� energy efficiency
� materials selection
� indoor environmental quality
(Canada Green Building Council, N.A., http://www.cagbc.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=LEED)
In the process of planning a school with sustainability in mind, students have considered energy efficiency, water
conservation, materials with a small ecological footprint, as well as effective land use. Taking into consideration the
benefits, disadvantages, costs and savings of all aspects students desire to be incorporated into our school, we
aimed, ultimately, to minimize our impact on our environment – both locally and globally.
In a follow-up e-mail to the presentations made by students in the 2008 CGR 4M class, Al Gibb, BWDSB’s Manager of
Plant Services and Administration stated, “You have demonstrated the value of a collaborative effort with this project
and the learning opportunities.” It is the hope of the students submitting this report the Bluewater District School
Board will give serious consideration to the work of the students, providing feedback and following our vision for
an ‘SDSS Redesigned’ that is both sustainable in nature and offers wonderful teaching opportunities.
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