Youth & Educational Resources

Energy Conservation Video & Teacher's Guide

In our efforts to promote energy conservation among young people, and inspire them to become catalysts for positive change in regards to energy use, we undertook the making of a video which balances entertainment with information. Drawing from the Ministry of Energy’s energy saving tips, we developed a storyline which would lead the main characters to discover and talk about energy waste and conservation.

The film has three goals. The first goal is to communicate the negative effects of wasting energy. This is done in a mini-documentary segment of the video in which student's illustrations are used to explain the environmental impacts of energy use. The second goal is to clearly demonstrate several easy ways in which everyone in their home and school can immediately implement to conserve energy. Thirdly, it is important to speak to student leaders who might go beyond making personal changes, and become involved in educating others, or organizing initiatives in their schools and communities.

The narrative element of the video is built around a character who is trying to figure out why her energy bill is so high. She calls a detective named Wattson, because she suspects that someone is stealing her energy. However, after investigating the house, the detective and her assistant, named Volt, discover that no one is stealing energy. The storyline of the detectives is amusing, while allowing Wattson and Volt to illustrate to the audience, the changes that can be made around a typical home.

Also, the detectives have a researcher in the field, named Slick. The interviews in the field are with real young people who have initiated positive change and education in their communities and schools. The young children interviewed are members of the EcoTigers from Gledhill Public School in Toronto. An older student interviewed is a member of the Victoria Park Environmental Club at Victoria Park Collegiate Institute also in Toronto. Both schools have been certified as EcoSchools because of their strong environmental stewardship performance.

The video illustrates that there are things we can all do to support energy conservation. The underlying message is that young people are taking action to promote energy-saving projects and initiatives, and these make a significant difference in their immediate environment as well as the sustainability of the world's environment.

Please note that this video and teacher's guide is available free to educators in Ontario.

To order a copy please contact Anne Mark at annem@planetinfocus.org or call 416-531-1769.

Download a copy of the study guide here.

Download transcription of the video here.

We would like to thank the Government of Ontario for their financial support for the production of this guide through the Community Conservation Initiative program of the Ontario Ministry of Energy

For Teachers:

This teacher's guide is targeted to students in grades 5-12 and provides activity suggestions from two perspectives: environmental education and media arts education. As with any teaching resource, this video can be used successfully in a variety of subject areas and contexts. The teacher's guide provides a detailed view of energy, communications and media arts education in the Ontario curriculum.

This film can be used in essentially two ways:

1. A starting point for discussing specific topics like:

• climate change
• the impacts of energy use
• energy conservation
• renewable and non-renewable energy sources.

2. More generally, as a starting point for discussing:

• the creative process
• design principles of media arts
• the production of media arts for a variety of purposes and audiences.