Two teachers from George Freeman School and Strathmore High School have been recognized with The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) Innovation in Education Awards.

In total five Alberta teachers have been awarded APEGA Innovation in Education Awards and will share $23,600 in grants to support STEM-learning projects in their classrooms.

Cole Hintz, a teacher at Strathmore High School, and Jill McDonald, a teacher at George Freeman School have been selected as recipients. With the grant funding 300 students from Grades 4 to 12 will have the chance to practice problem solving in real-life engineering and geoscience problems with hands-on projects.

According to the APEGA, they’ll construct greenhouses with geothermal heat sources, investigate wind power and solar energy as sources of electricity, research renewable energy systems that can help power and sustain homes and schools, and investigate the imp

“APEGA wants to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they need to succeed in the future workforce. We can’t do this without collaboration with educators,” says Mohamed El Daly, P.Eng., APEGA’s outreach and product services director. “The grants provide an extra boost to help teachers energize their classrooms with meaningful learning experiences that show students the positive impact science, technology, engineering and math have on their communities.”

For the 2021/2022 award cycle, APEGA awarded $23,600 for five exciting projects, each receiving up to $5,000.