Odessa school students learn about designing sustainable spaces for their community

Students at Odessa public school were busy applying their newly gained knowledge Wednesday.

The Grade 7 and 8 students were taking part in a workshop to envision and design a sustainable place in their community.

Students put their creativity and imagination to work, building scale models as part of a four-day workshop called Imagining My Sustainable Community.

The mini-projects offered ways for the young minds to build concepts like alternative energy, and green design and space into the communities they live in.

“We choose a real place in their neighbourhood that we identify together prior to us coming in that needs help or revitalization,” said Elizabeth Davies, the lead educator with Imagining My Sustainable Community.

Davies is an architect who brings her skills to the table. Students also work with artists and designers to bring their ideas to life — like a community centre for central Odessa.

“We’re focusing on getting something from like little kids to like elderly people, so there’s like gyms, fitness places and places where people can go to be sociable too and also a place where people can work and get jobs,” said Grade 7 student Peyton Campbell.

The centre includes lots of green space and solar panelling for energy.

Andrew Smith worked on a net-zero farmers market combined with a transit hub.

“It’s important to engage everyone in thinking this way so we can work towards solving problems of our future,” Smith said.

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And, at least for Grade 8 student Bryn Davis, the program opened her eyes to a possible career.

“I’ve been interested in interior designing but it’s not something that has been big for me,” Bryn said. “Architect — it’s just something that I may want to do in the future.”

Model frustrations aside, for these students, it’s about building a better and sustainable future — one that maybe someday, they can help build in the real world.