Encana and City of Calgary launch EcoAction School at Ralph Klein Park

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Calgary, Alberta - June 22, 2011 - Encana Corporation has teamed up with the City of Calgary to launch the Encana EcoAction School, a unique educational program to support youth learning about wetlands and water conservation in an outdoor classroom setting at the new Ralph Klein Park in Calgary.

The Encana EcoAction School allows teachers to take students from Grades 1 to 12 out of the classroom and into the wetlands park for one week during the school year to experience environmental education programming at the state-of-the-art Environmental Education and Ethics Centre at Ralph Klein Park. The program will emphasize the importance of water, wetlands and ecosystems. The Encana EcoAction School will be operated by Campus Calgary Open Minds, an outreach educational program supported by the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District.

“We are excited to be leading this educational program that will provide hundreds of students with new skills and a greater understanding of the important role they play in stewarding and sustaining our environment,” said Patricia Etris, Team Lead for Encana’s Community Involvement. “It will focus on wetlands, water conservation and other environmental impacts – issues that Encana knows are very important.”

“The Encana EcoAction School is an amazing program that provides youth with the opportunity to explore their natural surroundings in an authentic and stimulating learning setting,” said Kym McCulley, Environmental Education & Initiatives Lead with The City of Calgary Parks.  “We are thrilled that Encana has partnered with us to create such a fantastic opportunity for Calgary’s young students." 

Encana will contribute $300,000 to sponsor the Encana EcoAction School over three years. The new 30-hectare Ralph Klein Park is located within a 200-hectare constructed wetland in southeast Calgary. The park provides a mix of upland, wetlands and open water habitat for wildlife. The wetlands also use natural vegetation to treat storm water before it is discharged into the city’s Bow River. Several energy conserving strategies and unique building construction methods were used in designing the park.

Elizabeth Godfrey, a Grade 5 teacher with St. Patrick Elementary School, was one of a number of Calgary teachers whose classes participated in a pilot of the program earlier this year. “As a teacher, the Encana EcoAction School extends our school curriculum in a way that I never could have done in a regular classroom,” she said. “The kids really learned about their impact on the environment. We were out and around the site every day. Every day there was an expert on hand to talk to the kids. They absolutely loved it. Many of them said the experience changed their lives. For instance, many of them are now taking shorter showers and starting to recycle in their homes.”

For more information about Ralph Klein Park visit www.calgary.ca/rkp.

About Encana

Encana is a leading North American producer of clean, affordable natural gas. The way our people do business reflects our commitment to responsible development, safety, sound environmental practices and community engagement. Encana invests in community programs in the areas of environment, education, community enhancement, sports and recreation and family and community wellness. Success is defined by sustainable financial performance and our contribution to the strength and sustainability of the communities where we operate. Further information on Encana Corporation is available on the company’s website, www.encana.com.

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