The meal will be prepared and cooked by Grade 8 students on March 28 with guidance and help from chef (and teacher) Paul Heighton, to be held at the school and open to students and their families and to the public. New Glasgow’s Atlantic Superstore and Stirlings are sponsors contributing to the local dinner and tickets will be sold for $3. Any profits raised will go to the New Glasgow Academy community garden.
Earth Hour started in 2007 as a lights-off event to raise awareness about climate change and in its eighth year in 2014, the World Wildlife Funds Earth Hour broke global records, mobilizing hundreds of millions of people in a call for action on this important environmental issue.
“New Glasgow has been a supporter of the worldwide Earth Hour initiative since its inception and it is endorsed as a part of our council’s commitment to environmental stewardship and action,” says New Glasgow Mayor Barrie MacMillan. “Earth Hour is an initiative where every individual, business, group or community may make a difference. Our town-owned buildings power down during the hour while always ensuring safety is maintained.”
He said Earth Hour also connects people as part of a forward thinking global community. It is a movement that builds awareness and calls us to have a shared responsibility in decreasing energy use and reducing our carbon footprints as individuals, families, cities, towns and villages.
“This is a great educational fundraiser for our community garden that students and staff alike are very excited to support,” says Allison MacNeil, principal of New Glasgow Academy. “The Grade 8 students are thrilled to show off their skills in the kitchen, while learning the importance of Earth Hour, and helping to raise money for the community garden that they will nurture and reap the benefits from throughout the year.”
Geralyn MacDonald, New Glasgow’s director of community economic development said partnering with the school was a way to have a broader impact.
“Partnering with New Glasgow Academy is a great choice because it supports our goal to raise awareness in the community and to create a new generation of environmental stewards,” she said. “This partnership enables us to help spread the Earth Hour message to the students, their families and other residents of New Glasgow while also raising funds for the community garden – all in one event, in one hour.”
The event will start at 8 p.m. March 28 with a spaghetti dinner being served with lights out at 8:30 p.m. Electric lights will be off from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. in accordance with the national lights-out movement. Tickets are available for purchase for the public at New Glasgow Town Hall, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and for students and their families at New Glasgow Academy.
The New Glasgow Library will be on hand with a fun and interactive puppet show and there will be art work on the walls and tables provided by New Glasgow Academy’s art classes.