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Mayor's Environment Expo

Mayor's Environment Expo

2024 Mayor's Environment Expo

The Mayor's Environment Expo is held annually in conjunction with National Environment Week with the goal to empower and educate Calgary’s youth to practice and promote environmental actions, shaping a healthier and greener city for tomorrow.

The Expo, a FREE event for schools, features more than 35 interactive exhibits including those from Calgary-based EcoSchools Canada schools and more than 30 virtual and 80 in person workshops to engage and empower youth to act to protect the environment.

The 35th annual Mayor's Environment Expo will run virtually from June 3 to 6, 2024 and in-person June 4-5, 2024.

  • Workshop, performance, and virtual session host registration begins January 15 and closes February 19 (https://forms.office.com/r/R1ezwRcJ5T)
  • School registration opens in April
  • Exhibitor registration opens in April

Ahead of the Expo, schools are invited to access recordings of virtual sessions from previous years, sign up to be EcoSchools, and join the mailing list to receive updates and education opportunities throughout the year and registration information ahead of the event.

Please email expo@calgary.ca with questions or for more information.

  • Jack Leslie Youth Environmental Grant

    Applications now open

    Up to $1,000 of funding is available for your youth environmental project! This grant honours the positive impact former Mayor Jack Leslie had on the city and the environment.

    Applications close January 21, 2024

By the Numbers


  • Schools and homeschool groups in Calgary participated in the Expo, whether attending environmental education workshops and sessions in person and/or online.

  • students, teachers and chaperones attended the Expo in-person at various venues in and around City Hall, including the Calgary Municipal Building, Arts Commons, Central Library, University of Calgary SAPL City Building Design Lab, Platform Innovation Centre, and District Energy Centre.

  • organizations, partners, and City Business Units hosted workshops and educational sessions in-person and online to educate students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 about local environmental issues, actions, and solutions.

  • students and teachers from 259 classes K-12 registered for virtual sessions June 5-8.

Sponsors & Partners


Transportation Sponsor

Workshop Sponsor

Venue Support Partners

Virtual sessions from Mayor's Environment Expo 2023


The 2023 Mayor's Environment Expo included sessions for students of all ages on a broad range of environmental topics. A selection of video recordings from the 2023 Mayor's Expo can be found below:

Opening Ceremony – 34th Annual Mayor’s Environment Expo

Join Mayor Gondek kicks off our 34th annual Mayor's Environment Expo. She shares her passion for climate action and environmental stewardship while welcoming students and teachers to join The City in our climate and environment initiatives through Expo sessions, exhibitors and programming., The Alberta Council for Environmental Education (ACEE), EcoSchools Canada's delivery partner, also celebrates what EcoSchools Alberta that have achieved certification this year.

Creatures and Climate – Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation

Did you know that climate change is already having an impact on wildlife in Alberta? Join us to learn more about how some of our wildlife species respond to climate change, why climate change is so challenging for wild animals to adapt to, and what we humans can do to help.

Alberta Tomorrow's Simulation Tool and Indigenous Voices Module

What's your vision of Calgary's future? How do we get there? The Alberta Tomorrow Simulation tool allows you to create the future you want for Calgary while learning about Alberta's environment, economy, natural resources, and Indigenous peoples. How has Calgary changed in the past, and how might it change in the future? The future is up to you; design the future you want to see!

How Do You Impact Air Quality? – Calgary Region Airshed Zone

Join an Air Quality Scientist and learn about how air quality affects us and how our actions affect air quality. Why do we care about the air, how do we measure air pollution, and how can students protect the air quality for their future? How can we change our habits to protect our air? The in-person presentations include a smoke sensor demonstration and will be discussing all things air quality!

Wild Wellness: It's in YOUR Nature – CPAWS Southern Alberta

Do you ever wonder why the world just feels better when you are outside? Spending time in nature, or Vitamin N, makes us breathe, think, and feel better; but don’t take our word for it. Join CPAWS Southern Alberta for a dose of nature play and mindfulness and let Mother Nature convince you!

Climate Game Changers Unite – CPAWS Southern Alberta

With hope, everything is possible, especially climate solutions. Join CPAWS Southern Alberta and gain real world eco-insight into local climate impacts, nature-based climate solutions, and, most importantly, how seemingly small actions make the biggest climate breakthroughs possible. Hope lives here!

EcoCooks Food Waste: Save Food, Save the Planet – Elements Society

Did you know that 1/3 of the food that the world produces is wasted? Come join EcoCooks educators to learn why this is such a problem for our planet and more importantly, how you can help. Whether it’s at home, school, or out in the community, there are many ways we can reduce, reuse and recycle our food waste and live more sustainably!

The Past and Future of the Youth Climate Movement – Fridays for Future Calgary

In August 2018, Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg shocked the world by going on strike from school, demanding action to combat the climate emergency. But the story is bigger than Greta, with millions of students and allies continuing to mobilize for climate action. This presentation by Fridays for Future Calgary explores the many stories of youth climate activists, along with how youth, including Calgary students, can enact change in their community. This session will involve a short lecture-style presentation, then a brainstorming session and sharing circle for students to share their own advocacy ideas and discuss environmental issues in their community.

Against the Current: The Story of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Alberta – Ghost Watershed Alliance Society

Something fishy going on? In this live, interactive session, students will be introduced to the biology of a native trout species, the Westslope Cutthroat. Spooling out the line, the session will cover threats to its survival and a summary of federal and provincial recovery efforts. As a local case study, fish habitat restoration in the Ghost Watershed will be showcased. Teachers will be provided with an accompanying slide deck and student activity package.

Fire and Water: How Wildfire Affects Calgary's Source Watersheds and Beyond – Ghost Watershed Alliance Society

What in blazes? In this live, interactive session, students will look at what fire is (the fire triangle) and how wildfire could potentially impact the source water for the city of Calgary. By investigating the specific case of the 2020 Devil's Head wildfire in the Ghost River Watershed, this session will ignite interest in an important land-water connection.

Climate Change: My School and My Community – Green Sky Sustainability

Climate change is a very popular term lately, but how can it affect your school and community? In this workshop, we will share practical techniques in climate mitigation and adaptation, how we can create plans to minimize environmental impacts, and how we can be prepared for unexpected events.

Redesigning Waste – Green Sky Sustainability & HSR Zero Waste

Did you know that by sorting your waste properly you can reduce your impact on greenhouse gas emissions? In this workshop, we will explore how to improve waste management, focusing on waste reduction and diversion and improving waste diversion in landfills. We will review concepts in waste and share tools to prepare your school to be an environment champion.

Natural Regions Stewardship Trip – Inside Education

Taking care of Alberta’s landscape is no small task, so climb aboard the Steward Ship and take a virtual tour of Alberta’s natural regions! Using mini case studies, we will introduce some of the challenges each region faces as our climate changes and highlight some innovative ways Albertans are answering the call for adaptation and mitigation. We will also touch on scientific inquiry, understanding natural processes of our ecosystems, and looking at the geological history that shaped our landscape and created a rich diversity of natural resources.

Journey 2050: Sustainable Agriculture Adventure – Calgary Stampede

This workshop is a choose your own adventure session where students will work together to sustainably feed a world population of 10 billion by the year 2050. Journey 2050 is a curriculum-based school program that takes students on a virtual simulation, where they will make choices to try and balance environmental, social, and economic factors in their communities while growing enough food to feed the world

Worms at Work – Living Soil Solutions

Get up close and personal with these hardworking squiggly wriggly critters. Students will learn the difference between dirt and soil and its importance to all humans, diving into how worms are used for composting, and all the things the worms need from us to provide them with a comfortable home.

The Soil Food Web: What Critters Are in There? – Living Soil Solutions

What?! Is there a bug in there? There may be, and so much more. Learn about the interactions of all the critters in the living soil that we can see with our eyes, and the ones we cannot. Students will learn about the impact these critters have on the soil, plants, and even us!

Habitat for Pollinators – City of Calgary, Recreation and Social Programs

Did you know we have over 200 species of native bees in Calgary? This workshop will explore who our local pollinators are, why we have so many pollinator species in Calgary, what ecosystems are important for their survival, and the bigger picture of how you can help protect the spaces used by pollinators. Students will be encouraged to take action to add to the pollinator habitat in our city.

Have questions about the Mayor’s Environment Expo? Contact expo@calgary.ca

Previous years' virtual sessions


A selection of video recordings from previous years' Mayor's Environment Expos can be found on the City of Calgary's YouTube channel here:

Stay connected


Join the Expo Mailing List to receive updates, education opportunities throughout the year and when registration opens for 2024.

The 35th Mayor’s Environment Expo will be June 2024. See you there!

EcoSchools


The City of Calgary has partnered with the Alberta Council for Environmental Education (ACEE) to deliver the EcoSchools program in Calgary, which is designed to educate K-12 students about climate change and environmental education.

To learn more, visit ACEE.

EcoSchools Logo
ACEE Logo

Webinar Series for Schools

We are proud to support EcoSchools with our Environment Webinar Series. Check out the playlist for webinars hosted this year and subscribe to our Mailing list to get information on our upcoming events.

Other Educational Opportunities


Jack Leslie Grant

The Jack Leslie Youth Environmental Grant honours the positive impact former Mayor Jack Leslie had on the city and the environment, and is awarded to youth in Calgary who continue his efforts.

Jack Leslie Grant

Webinar for Teachers

Are you looking to provide experiences in nature or in-class environmental education to promote student learning or create projects of meaning that tie to curriculum and contribute to environmental sustainability? 

The City of Calgary and CPAWS Southern Alberta have partnered to bring you a twenty-minute recorded webinar designed to develop cross-curriculum links and identify environmental education resources to support transcending learning beyond the classroom and help students see real-life connections to their learning.

This webinar explores nature and project-based learning approaches, promotes cross-curricular integration and lesson plan design to teach environmental education.


A+ for Energy

The A+ For Energy program, provides schools with funding to implement creative approaches to energy education. This is your chance to receive a grant of up to $5000 to transform an idea into action! Preference is given to projects that demonstrate measurable greenhouse gas emission reductions and high student engagement. All K-12 teachers in Alberta are welcome to apply. 

For more information and to view past projects visit Inside Education​.


The Alberta Emerald Foundation

The Emerald Youth Grant program empowers students and youth (under 25) to make their dream environmental projects a reality. It’s easy – first, get inspired by the Emerald Documentary Series, What On EARTH Can We Do? Podcast, or Emerald Speakers Series, then pitch your idea to the Emerald Foundation online.

To apply, visit emeraldfoundation.ca/eygrants.


Caring for our Watersheds

Open to all students in Southern Alberta in grades 7-12, this program encourages students to develop ideas for protecting and caring for our local environment and watershed.

Students will be challenged to research their local watershed, identify an environmental concern and work to develop a creative, but a realistic solution. To learn more about Caring for our Watersheds program, click here.


CPAWS: Action Challenge

CPAWS Southern Alberta is rewarding Canadian youth for their environmental actions with the new Action Challenge! Who can participate? Youth-oriented groups such as; classrooms, clubs, schools, and families who live in Canada! Teams register, submit their 'green actions', earn points and have a chance to win our Grand Prize. The team with the highest points at the end of the Challenge wins the Grand Prize of $500! The second-place prize is $300!

For more information and to register today visit ActionChallenge.ca or contact actionchallenge@cpaws.org.


The City of Calgary

Check out The City of Calgary’s other ParksWater and Waste and Recycling education opportunities.

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