Ideas
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Project Ideas
Are you looking for a project idea? Take a look at what other schools from across Canada are doing to make a difference.
If you have an idea, share it with ECO Canada by emailing us at career.awareness@eco.ca. You can also share it with us on Twitter or Facebook.
Career Ideas
The environment industry is full of exciting opportunities to turn your passion into a meaningful career―opportunities that you may not even know about yet. To help you learn more about environmental careers, ECO Canada wants you to explore careers as they relate to your project.
Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
1. Connect with an environmental professional
People working in the environmental sector can provide a lot of insight into their career and career path, along with valuable advice. Set up an informational interview with an environmental professional and tell them about your project―they may be able to help (be sure to prepare career-related questions in advance and thank them for their time afterwards!).
2. Partner with a local company
Companies are often more than happy to give back to the community and spend some time with today’s youth. Ask a botanist to help plan your school’s greenhouse, an arborist to help beautify your school grounds, or go on a tour of a local recycling facility to learn more about jobs in the industry.
3. Tour a post-secondary institution’s faculty of environment
Sixty-six percent of environmental professionals have post-secondary education compared to 42% of the Canadian workforce . With a highly educated environmental workforce, it’s never too early to start exploring careers and the education that’s required to land that dream job. Tour your local post-secondary institution to learn more about their environmental programs and entry requirements.
4. Research environmental careers online
With over 120 occupational profiles online at ECO Canada, you can easily explore a day-in-the-life of an environmental professional, including working conditions, educational requirements, and salary ranges. You can also learn about what occupations are best suited to your interests with ECO Canada’s Interest Matching Tool .
5. Role-play
You and your team can have a lot of fun with your project and learn about environmental careers by role-playing throughout your project. For example, if you’re thinking about installing solar panels on your school roof, one team member can be the clean energy researcher, another the environmental communications officer, and yet another the project manager. Don’t be afraid to get creative and learn something new!
6. Social media conversations
Social media offers a wealth of opportunity for you to connect directly with environmental professionals or students just like you who want to help the environment. Look for LinkedIn groups you can join to connect with professionals in the sector or Facebook pages of groups and companies working with the environment. You might even consider creating a #hashtag on Twitter and hosting a live-tweet discussion around your subject.