Calgary-area family finalists in ‘awesome’ national eco-challenge

Members of a family in Airdrie, Alta., are going all-out to go green over the remaining months of 2023.

Kevin and Samantha Shannon, and their three children are hoping to win big in a Canada-wide contest.

They’re also hoping to inspire others to take action to help our environment.

The Shannon’s are among eight finalists in “Live Net Zero,” a national contest run by Canadian Geographic.

In an effort to cut down on their energy consumption, the Shannons have had their yard dug up to put in a geothermal heating system.

“The geothermal exchange system uses the energy out of the ground in the winter, pumping it into our house,” Samantha said. “And then in the summer, we’re taking the heat energy and pumping it into the ground.”

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The Shannons have also installed 42 solar panels on the roofs of their house and garage to provide electricity.

“If everybody gets on board and does a little bit, we can make a great impact,” Kevin said.

The Shannons are hoping their actions will get other Canadians thinking about taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

“We’re sharing that information through our social media and through the website for ‘Live Net Zero,'” Samantha said. “We’re trying to give everybody a more tangible, more realistic set of tools (for others) to reduce their emissions.”

The Shannons are spending $135,000 going green, hoping to offset some of those costs by winning the contest’s $50,000 grand prize.

“We’re pretty excited about this,” Samantha said. “This has been an awesome endeavour.”