Environmental Student Action Challenge
Empowering Alberta's Students to Tackle Environmental Challenges
Do your students have big ideas about making their local environment a better place? Are you looking for ways to support their ambitions and enthusiasm? If so, the Environmental Student Action Challenge (ESAC) is here to help!
ESAC is a grant program intended to turn student innovation and curiosity into student-driven exploration and research of solutions to address environmental issues impacting their community.
ESAC offers grants of up to $1,000 per student-led project to support their research and environmental problem-solving.
Throughout their journey, students will document their challenges and successes, exploring a local issue to give them a greater depth of understanding of the world around them. At the end of the school year, students will come together to share their discoveries and celebrate their hard work inspiring others across Alberta to do the same.
2025-2026 School Year Challenge: Water Conservation
For the 2025-26 ESAC session, participants are being challenged to select projects on a topic very pertinent to Alberta today: water conservation.
- Could you audit your school’s water usage and challenge your fellow students to cut consumption?
- Could you build a rainwater capture system for your school or community garden?
- Could you research which native plants are best for your area and build a water saving habitat park?
- Could you monitor a local water body and share your findings with a science database?
There are so many possibilities to consider with your classmates. Get together to decide on a project and submit your proposal by October 31, 2025.
ESAC Participation Requirements
Students are encouraged to identify an environmental issue impacting their school and/or community.
Teachers will submit a formal application requesting up to $1,000 in funding for investigating and implementing solutions to their topic.
ESAC Participation Timeline
- December: Approved projects will receive notification.
- February: Funding sent to school administrators.
- February - June: Project implementation will occur and culminate in a final report or presentation in late May/early June.
Application Information
Application for the 2025-2026 School Year Now Open
Application deadline: extended to November 15, 2025
Contact ESAC
We encourage applicants to reach out to discuss their ideas and to help make your application as strong as possible.
ESAC Grant Program FAQs
ESAC funds student-led exploration of topics related to addressing environmental issues in Alberta’s schools and/or communities.
Applications are open to any team of Kindergarten through Grade 12 students attending school in Alberta. Teams must have a teacher supervisor and principal support.
Schools are welcome to submit applications for multiple projects across multiple teams. Applications are not limited to one per school.
No, individual applications are not eligible. This is a team challenge intended for groups of two or more students.
Project applications will be assessed with grade levels in mind. Students in higher grade levels are expected to include more elements of research and of deeper scientific reasoning and exploration in their proposals.
Funding for projects is provided from the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas.
Funding for approved projects is expected to reach school administration teams in February of this school year.
Projects must address a local Alberta water conservation issue and promote water conservation or stewardship.
Successful applications tend to involve many people (both students and community members), have a legacy component, be unique, and have well articulated learning objectives.
Teams can spend the funding on project materials and supplies, and up to a third can be spent on engaging with or consulting a subject matter expert to deepen the inquiry journey of your students. All budget items need to be submitted for approval to the ESAC Coordinator.
The project may continue beyond the end date of the school year; however, only unique additions to the project may be funded in subsequent years. If the project will be expanded on or added to in subsequent years, a new proposal can be submitted for consideration under the program. Students can also look for additional funding through community grants or corporate sponsorship to fund unique components of the project.
Yes, collaboration with other groups and individuals is encouraged!
- November: Notification to all applicants regarding approval of their project.
- February: Approved projects receive funding.
- February - June: Project implementation with regular check-ins with the ESAC Team. A progress report on the project will be shared at our ESAC Celebration of Learning at the end of the school year.
Projects must be completed as outlined in their proposal by the end of the school year.
Past Participation in Action
Net Zero Tiny Home Bus Conversion
In collaboration with local experts, New Myrnam students build a net-zero tiny house out of a school bus to learn real-world skills to reduce their carbon footprint.
Reducing Our Carbon Footprint through Community Collaboration
New Myrnam School students build a new hydroponics system to grow their own produce and calculate their carbon footprint of buying food from the grocery store versus food grown through their own system.
Native Plant Garden
Archbishop Jordan Catholic High School students develop their green thumbs with a garden full of native plans – increasing the biodiversity and resilience of local ecosystems.
Beekeeping & Pollinator Garden
Collingwood students create a bee habitat by planting native flowers and shrubs in their schoolyard and building a beehive to increase biodiversity.
Updated: Nov 4, 2025