A Year and a Half Later, Robert Service School's Impact Keeps Growing

It’s like music to our ears when we learn that a project not only succeeds but keeps paying it forward long after the ribbon-cutting. Robert Service School in Dawson City, Yukon is a perfect example. Their N:OW for Net-Zero funded Housing Unit, which trained students in net-zero and climate-resilient building design, wrapped up a year and a half ago, but its ripple effects are still being felt today.

The project began with a week-long, place-based training where 20 students received full-time instruction in modelling climate-resilient buildings, with an additional 33 students participating part-time and 5 community members joining evening sessions. Students learned directly from local tradespeople and Indigenous elders, grounding their designs in the realities their community actually faces: melting permafrost, unpredictable temperatures, and increased wildfire risk. The resulting net-zero building prototypes were presented at the Yukon Science Fair, and have since evolved into a full building plan that the school's shop program is using to construct a real, physical structure aimed at addressing local housing shortages.

The story has continued to resonate well beyond Dawson City. The project was featured by CBC News in a piece exploring how changes to Yukon's Education Act could help more students earn credit for locally developed, place-based courses like this one. More recently, a youth podcaster focused on climate change conversations discovered the project — and shop teacher Peter Menzies — through our N:OW for Net-Zero website, reaching out to learn more about the work being done in Dawson City.

"N:OW for Net-Zero funding was the essential component to do our Housing Unit. The project idea was several years old, but the timing of the funding fit perfectly with how our school could move to implementation!" - Peter Menzies, Shop Teacher

Read the CBC News article here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/amendments-yukon-s-education-act-local-courses-credit-1.7185136 

Want to bring net-zero building education to your own school? Check out our Green Buildings and Retrofits Resource Guide and our Net-Zero Buildings lesson plan.

Want to learn more about Robert Service School's journey? Check out their full solution story on our website: https://nowfornetzero.org/solution-story/robert-service-school/