The Jasper Sustainability Club for Youth has not given up on planting a SEED in Jasper.
In fact, the students have come up with numerous ideas to get a sustainable, living classroom to town.
The project hit a roadblock last month when the prototype, which was promised to the club free of charge, was sold to a school in Seattle. In September, Stacy Smedley, who designed the classroom, told the 51暗网 the sale was necessary because she was having difficulty raising the funds to get one to Jasper.
鈥淲e were finding on our end, we could fundraise money and get people excited about the SEED classroom, but in Seattle the people didn鈥檛 understand why they were going to donate money to send it somewhere else,鈥� she said.
Although disheartening, the loss of the prototype isn鈥檛 enough to hold the club back. During a stakeholder meeting last week, students assured the community they remain determined.
鈥淒espite the constantly changing situation, we know that we can make this a reality if we really try and make it work,鈥� said Megan Warren. 鈥淭his is a time to be resilient and stick together in the face of all hurdles past, present and future.鈥�
The students have raised $56,000 toward a SEED and that money is now in a bank account in Jasper, waiting to be put toward their dream classroom.
To come up with the remaining $120,000, as well as transportation and hook-up costs, the students鈥� primary idea is to partner with Community Outreach Services. The club is proposing the classroom as the perfect location for out of school care, a program that has had difficulty finding a permanent home.
The other benefit to the partnership is it would give the club the opportunity to access government grants, alleviating the need for further fundraising.
For out of school care to take place in the classroom, it would have to be larger than Smedley鈥檚 prototype, but because of the building鈥檚 design, that is more than plausible.
The partnership between the club and outreach services hasn鈥檛 been finalized, but discussions are taking place.
Another option the students presented was to form partnerships with other organizations in town, like Parks Canada and the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division.
There is also a possibility that Smedley will still be able to give the students a free SEED, but that relies on her first selling 20 of them.
鈥淩ight now it looks like it would take a magnitude of 20 SEEDs to cover the cost of one SEED for Jasper,鈥� she wrote the students in an email, explaining that she and her business partner would just take enough profit to cover costs and salaries, leaving the remaining money for another SEED.
Although it鈥檚 not clear which route the students will take, they are determined to see a living classroom in their schoolyard.
鈥淲e are driven to bring a SEED to Jasper and are going to exhaust all possible options before giving up,鈥� said Grade 11 student, Tannin Standing. 鈥淭he Jasper Sustainability Club for Youth, as well as the parents, have decided to remain resilient and are determined to get the SEED to Jasper.鈥�
Nicole Veerman[email protected]
