YEAR ONE
DCS start-up
▪ ESTABLISH THE DCS TEAM A DCS Team is formed in each school to coordinate the DCS program. The team consists of the principal, building operator, lead teacher(s), lead students and lead parents. (Click here for more details about the DCS Team.)
▪ ATTEND THE INITIAL WORKSHOP The DCS Coordinator organizes an Initial workshop for principals, lead teachers, parents and building operators within a School Division. During this workshop the DCS process is introduced and any questions are answered. Team members are provided with resources, and expectations are outlined. Caretaking and maintenance staff can review the plans and implementation timelines for the retrofits if applicable.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
| September | Initial Workshop Audience: Principals, Lead Teachers, Building Operators, Trustees | Retraining Workshop: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school | Advanced Lifestyle Workshop: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school |
| October | |||
| November | Technical Workshop: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school | ||
| December | |||
| January | |||
| February | Lifestyle Campaign Workshop: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school | Professional Development Workshop: Audience: One lead teacher per school | Eco-Footprint Workshop: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school |
| March | |||
| April | |||
| May | Year End Celebration: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school | Year End Celebration: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school | Year End Celebration: Audience: One lead teacher and 3-4 students per school |
| June |
▪ ESTABLISH THE CONSERVATION CLUB OR CLASS The first major task of the DCS Team is to form the Conservation Club or Class. (Click here for detailed information on setting up a Conservation Club or Class.) The term “Conservation Club” is used to refer to both clubs and classes.
▪ INTRODUCE DCS TO THE SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY All partners work to promote DCS throughout the school and within the community. The staff presentation included can be used to introduce DCS to school staff, parent groups, and community groups. The Communications section includes strategies for media relations and communication tools for parent newsletters.
▪ ESTABLISH BASELINE YEAR UTILITY CONSUMPTION Using utility bills from the previous year, the School Division Administration Team and the Energy Consultants provide a report on baseline energy use, water consumption and financial costs. This information will be used to calculate future savings resulting from the DCS program.
Technical awareness
▪ ATTEND THE TECHNICAL WORKSHOP DCS leader teachers and lead students attend the Technical Workshop where they learn how to conduct student technical audits. The workshop is also a hands-on introduction to the types of technology that may be used to retrofit the schools and that can be used in our homes. During this workshop, participants will perform a student technical audit on the host school and learn to calculate its School Rating. Other DCS Team members are welcome to attend as well.
▪ PERFORM STUDENT TECHNICAL AUDITS Using the training they received in the Technical Workshop, DCS leaders, lead students and the Conservation Club conduct the technical audits and calculate a School Rating. The audit results can be presented to school maintenance personnel.
Lifestyle campaigns
▪ ATTEND LIFESTYLE CAMPAIGN WORKSHOP During this workshop, DCS leaders and lead students are presented with a process for planning and implementing lifestyle campaigns. The workshop is also a hands-on introduction to several issues students may address in their lifestyle campaigns. Students are trained to perform pre- and post-campaign audits to monitor the success of the campaigns.
▪ IMPLEMENT LIFESTYLE CAMPAIGNS The DCS Team and the Conservation Club select and implement the lifestyle campaigns for their school. The goal of the lifestyle campaigns is to involve students, parents and school staff in DCS activities. Click here for more information about lifestyle campaigns.
▪ MONITOR THE SUCCESS OF CAMPAIGNS A key to the success of the lifestyle campaigns is monitoring the results. Students use pre-campaign and post-campaign audits to measure lifestyle behaviours, such as leaving lights on and reducing garbage.
Communicating results
▪ COMMUNICATE RETROFIT CHANGES TO THE REST OF THE SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY Using the DCS Display, school newsletter, and media members, the DCS Team informs the rest of the school and community about retrofit changes that have been made to the school or are being planned. This lets all members of the school community know how the school is becoming more resource-efficient. For more information about the DCS display, click here.
▪ COMMUNICATE RESULTS OF LIFESTYLE CAMPAIGNS TO THE REST OF THE SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY The DCS display is a focal point for campaign activities. The display is used to highlight completed campaigns and to publicize upcoming lifestyle campaign events. Newsletter articles, school announcements and media releases can help inform your community of your activities. Energy savings data will be provided approximately yearly. This can be posted on your DCS display to highlight program success.
Year-end activities
▪ YEAR END CELEBRATIONS In the spring of each year, a division wide year-end celebration is held. These often include a program or activity. Past events have included a focus on solar energy, a Science Centre show on alternative energy, and a concert by Scrap Arts Music.
YEARS TWO AND THREE
Workshops
▪ YEAR TWO: RETRAINING WORKSHOP DCS leaders and lead students attend a Retraining Workshop that reintroduces the technical and lifestyle components of the program. The DCS Consultant Team also presents the audience with any changes to the program or new materials.
▪ YEAR TWO: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The winter workshop in year 2 is a professional development workshop for teachers. Information and teaching resources on climate change are presented. Feedback on DCS materials is requested and challenges are discussed.
▪ YEAR THREE: ADVANCED LIFESTYLE WORKSHOP DCS leaders and students meet with the DCS Consultant Team for a workshop on more advanced lifestyle campaigns they could use in their school.
▪ YEAR THREE: ECOFOOTPRINT WORKSHOP DCS leaders and students meet with the DCS Consultant Team for an EcoFootprint workshop. The EcoFootprint workshop shows how much of the earth’s resources it would take to sustain each of us, and the lifecycles of the products we use.
On-going activities
▪ PERFORM STUDENT TECHNICAL AUDITS Students in the Conservation Club repeat their technical audits. This is valuable to do before and after technical improvements have occurred.
▪ IMPLEMENT LIFESTYLE CAMPAIGNS The Conservation Club selects new lifestyle campaigns to implement in the school or continues on-going campaigns. Students use pre-campaign and post-campaign audits to measure lifestyle actions, launch the lifestyle campaigns in the school and use various strategies to communicate the campaign and encourage participation by all members of the school community.
▪ MONITOR CONSERVATION AND SAVINGS PROGRESS As the program proceeds, the Conservation Club continues to monitor the school’s improvements in saving money, conserving energy, saving water, managing waste and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. These improvements are tracked and publicized using the DCS display.
Celebrate success!
The Conservation Club can help the school celebrate its achievements as it saves money and improves its environmental performance.
