Port Moody wants air conditioning and better ventilation installed in local schools.
Tuesday (June 27), council endorsed a resolution to the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention calling for the Ministry of Education providing funding to school districts to make schools more resilient to extreme weather.
According to a report by Port Moody’s senior sustainability and energy coordinator, Arzan Balsara, climate change is putting pressure on cities all over the world to find ways to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events, especially on vulnerable populations.
“Heat waves can have sever consequences on public health, including heat exhaustion, heatstroke and even death,” said Balsara in his report.
“Children are particularly susceptible to these risks du to their limited capacity to regulate body temperature efficiently.”
Balsara said as schools are gathering places for kids, as well as the community, it’s essential they “create a comfortable and safe environment” with air conditioning and improved air circulation.
“Municipalities, education boards and policymakers must recognize the urgency and allocate sufficient resources to enable schools to address the challenges associated with extreme heat.”
Several schools in the Tri-Cities have recently received upgrades to their heating and ventilation systems, including Heritage Woods Secondary and a number of elementary schools, and earlier this month the provincial and federal governments announced joint funding for a ventilation work with almost $1 million at Eagle Ridge Elementary in Coquitlam.
In fact, School District 43 (SD43) is spending about 48 per cent of its annual facilities grant this year on mechanical upgrades to its schools.
UBCM’s convention, that brings together representatives of local governments from municipalities around the province, will be held Sept. 18–22 in Vancouver.
— with a file from Diane Strandberg, Tri-City News
