Students in E.S. Laird Middle School’s Eco9 program put old KFC fryer oil through the ringer last week as they learned how biodiesel is produced. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Students in E.S. Laird Middle School’s Eco9 program turned up the heat on renewable energy education as they wrapped their year learning how biodiesel is made.
In following the year-long program’s model of hands-on learning, students actually had the opportunity to produce a product that would power their school buses, trucks and tractors.
Last week’s lab was made possible thanks to a $5,000 A+ for Energy Grant from Inside Education and a partnership with a local fast food spot.
“We’re doing a science lab making biodiesel with funds I received last year through Inside Education to learn about energy and how energy is used, particularly in the West,” said one of the program’s teachers Shaun Donald last Thursday morning.
“The $5,000 grant allowed me to buy all of the equipment so we could do a couple of different steps to make biodiesel here at the school.”
Donald also explained the oil used in the lab was sourced through Lloydminster’s KFC location.
“We’ll be putting the oil through a bunch of different chemical processes and the end product will be biodiesel that can go right into a school bus, a tractor, a truck, etc.”
According to Donald, inspiration for the lab came after he took his students to Alberta Envirothon at Lakeland College’s Vermilion campus last year.
“I was looking at different labs and a couple of instructors there did a lesson on creating biodiesel,” he said.
“I talked to them afterwards, got some information, and decided it would be a good idea for our class.”
When it comes to renewable energy education, Donald said there’s no better way than learning by doing, especially when it’s in line with the provincial curriculum.
“In the Grade 9 curriculum, we learn about electricity, energy usage, alternative energy sources in Saskatchewan, and how that affects our daily life,” he said.
“So, learning about biodiesel as an alternative energy source fits right into our Grade 9 curriculum.”
With this being the program’s last lab of the year, Donald noted it was great to finish with something fun.
“It’s nice to go out with, hopefully, not a bang,” he said with a laugh.
“Students are looking forward to it; we’ve been setting up for it for the past day and the students are really intrigued.”
With provincial education budgets continuously getting slashed, Donald also pointed out how lucky he and his students feel to be able to do such labs.
“With some of the structures with classes now and some of the challenges with funding, we don’t get to do as many experiments as we used to; the budgets just aren’t there, so grants like this allow us to do those really fun things that get students interested in and involved in sciences, math and the trades,” he said.
“Grants are very important, but also, doing labs and experiments is also important because it gets the students interested.”
