Watts Off Challenge & Environmentally Sustainable Habits!

Intro to Watts Off

Did you know that we have a challenge unrolling this week? That’s right! Green Schools Nova Scotia has launched the Watts Off Energy Challenge, an exciting pilot project offered in partnership with Efficiency Nova Scotia. Watts Off is a behavioural change competition that encourages students to take action towards building energy saving habits at school and at home. Over the next six weeks, we will be sharing all about the work our five participating teams. This is a unique opportunity for schools to connect and take actions together.

Behavioural Change

Watts Off encourages students to progress through the cycle of behavioural change. First, we think about basic energy literacy and experiment with ways we can save energy and promote energy efficiency in our homes and schools. We aim to guide students through the preparation stage and into the action phase when we can equip them with the tools for maintaining the new energy efficient habits. Students can then make the connection between energy-saving actions and positive impacts on our planet. Challenge participants are competing to motivate each other and their communities to shift from knowing about the problem of energy waste to taking action to address the problem. Each Engagement Officer is supporting one of the classes throughout the Challenge to help their team problem-solve and elevate their participation.

Kick Off Event

Last week we launched the Challenge with a Watts Off Kick Off! Our competitors joined us on a celebratory Google Hangouts conference call and shared their team names and creative cheers. We have to say, we were blown away by the enthusiasm and energy of every team! We congratulate our schools on their work to prepare for the 6-week challenge! Every week, classes will receive a mission. Each mission is delivered through a video which outlines the weekly theme, weekly activities from the Green Schools NS Resources site, and the suggested add-on activities available for EXTRA points. Classes work on their mission and report their results to their Engagement Officer to wrap up the week. We will be tallying up the points as the weeks roll out, and announce the winning class just before March Break! 

Week 1 of Watts Off Energy Challenge

Monday morning arrived and each class received their first Watts Off mission. After watching their weekly video our teams became Energy Navigators. Keep your eye out for these navigators across the province as they investigate energy consumption in homes and schools. Students are strengthening their energy literacy as they embark on this learning journey toward resource conservation. Classes are encouraged to take photos, post on social media, and report their findings to their Engagement Officer. Once they successfully complete the mission, they win points and get closer to winning the grand prize!

~Kelsey Brasil,
Engagement Officer

Resources on Behavioural Change:

How To Change Behavior To Ensure A Sustainable Future | Donna Walden | TEDxCarsonCity – VIDEO
Three Myths of Behavior Change – What You Think You Know That You Don’t: Jeni Cross at TEDxCSU – VIDEO
Behaviour Change By Design – VIDEO
How to break habits (from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg) – VIDEO
Rare.org
Achieving energy efficiency through behaviour change: what does it take? – European Environment Association