Project Porchlight Alberta

Simple Actions Matter in Alberta!

In a province-wide campaign that took place in two phases between 2007 and 2009, more than 4,000 enthusiastic volunteers, with generous support from the Government of Alberta and EnCana Corporation, The City of Calgary, The City of Edmonton, and The City of Medicine Hat helped the Project Porchlight team successfully distribute more than 800,000 free compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to residents in over 250 communities across rural and urban Alberta, door-to-door and at more than 273 community events.

As a result of the campaign, residents of Alberta were empowered to believe that simple actions matter and to make smart energy choices in their daily lives. And long after the campaign, people reached directly by Project Porchlight will remain stewards in their communities, spreading the One Change message: simple actions matter.

800,000 bulbs changed in Alberta means:
· 382,000 MWh of electricity reduced
· $29,000,000 in energy saved
· 300,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas cut

That’s equivalent to energy consumed by approximately 50,000 Alberta homes in a year or close to $29 million in energy costs saved over 5 years!

Alberta Highlights

Thanks to the communities throughout urban and rural Alberta, the network of dedicated volunteers and the support of our funders, the Alberta campaign was a huge success! Through the combined efforts of everyone involved, the environment benefited quite significantly.

You can find highlights of this successful campaign, including profiles of star volunteers, short narratives of exciting local events we participated in, as well as stories from the field on our Alberta community-specific web pages.

Extra! Extra! Project Porchlight Alberta in the News!

In print, on the radio, and over the Internet, Project Porchlight was “all the buzz” in Alberta By working with a broad network of regional and community outlets, the campaign garnered a lot of media attention throughout the region.

Project Porchlight was highlighted in the media over 150 times in the newspaper, on the radio and on the internet, helping us spread our positive message of energy conservation to hundreds of thousands of Alberta residents.

To view news clippings of Project Porchlight Alberta, or to hear/see radio and television segments on the campaign, please visit our Media Room web page.

Aboriginal Community Engagement

Aboriginal outreach was an important component of the Project Porchlight campaign, and practicing sustainability is a time-honoured tradition among Aboriginal people. By engaging Aboriginal communities throughout Alberta, including Janvier, Suza Creek, Sunchild, and O’Chiese, Project Porchlight helped Aboriginal residents save funds, conserve the Earth’s natural resources, and protect the land for future generations.

In addition to distributing free energy-efficient CFL bulbs door-to-door and at local events, Project Porchlight—with the support of our funders EnCana Corporation and the Government of Alberta Corporation—brought important messages of sustainability, resource use, and respect for the land. This helped elders and other community leaders speak about the benefits of smart energy choices in ways that resonated within those communities.

Community Engagement

More than 1500 community groups, schools, churches, youth groups, recreation and sporting clubs, and service groups participated in the campaign.

Some of the community groups and leaders that helped out include:

• The Calgary Catholic School District:

· 102 schools, contacted through Science Consultant Brian Briggs. Brian Briggs took delivery of 3,000 bulbs to distribute to teachers throughout the district
· Ascension of Our Lord School distributed 1,000 bulbs at a school event
· Cardinal Newman School distributed 350 bulbs at a school event
· Our Lady of the Assumption School distributed 550 bulbs at a one-day event in their neighbourhood

• Elected officials:

· MP for Fort McMurray and Athabasca- Brian Jean helped to hand out 6000 bulbs
· Myron Thompson, MP for Wild Rose hosted a constituency pick-up with 100 bulbs
· Bridget Pastoor, MLA for Lethbridge East hosted a constituency pick-up with 400 bulbs
· Ken Allred, MLA for St. Albert hosted a constituency pick-up with 150 bulbs and also invited Project Porchlight to an Open House on May 30th where we interacted with attendants and Ken Allred himself to discuss the campaign while distributing bulbs
· Jeff Johnson, MLA for Athabasca hosted a constituency pick-up with 150 bulbs
· Robin Campbell, MLA for West Yellowhead hosted a constituency pick-up with 100 bulbs

• Service Clubs:

· The Cadets of Fort McMurray committed to distribute 1,100 bulbs
· The Girl Guides of the Spruce Grove district distributed 100 bulbs
· The Boy Scouts in Black Diamond and Turner Valley distributed 1,300 bulbs
· The Girl Guides in Coaldale distributed 2,150 bulbs
· The firefighters of MD Acadia distributed 200 bulbs
· The Rotary Club of Pincher Creek distributed 1,200 bulbs
· The Kiwanis of Taber distributed 500 bulbs
· The Kinette Club in Fort McMurray has distributed 1,750 bulbs through events and has delivered 1,500 bulbs door-to-door
· The Junior Forest Wardens in Red Deer distributed 2141 bulbs
· The 4H Club of Bassano distributed 450 bulbs

Project Porchlight Alberta Proudly Thanks its Funders

Project Porchlight Alberta was made possible by our funders, EnCana Corporation, The Government of Alberta, The City of Calgary, The City of Edmonton, The City of Medicine Hat, and by our partners Climate Change Central and Shaw Cablesystems.

More information:

Please contact us at info(at)onechange.org