Get used to it if your kid is following you around the house reminding you to turn off lights and the computers, and turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.
Thanks to big Jon Hameister-Ries of the BC Lions Football Club, your child is now an Energy Champion, and they’ve been well-drilled in the school of power conservation.
“If you’re cold at home, put on a sweater and some track pants – save some energy,” he tells students at Ocean Grove Elementary.
It’s the third and final school stop on Tuesday for the Lions’ community ambassadors who earlier made presentations at Penfield and Ripple Rock schools.
Hameister-Ries is the star of the FortisBC Energy Champions show. At first, the kids stare in awe at the 6’5”, 300-pound offensive guard, but he soon has them squealing with delight as he runs back and forth, playing educational games, and dressing up in as many clothes as he can get on in a minute.
In a nutshell, he puts the “Ham” in Hameister, but his focus is true and he’s great with the kids.
“This is a beautiful, beautiful place where we live,” says Hameister-Ries, who grew up in Edmonton, “but what are we going to do to keep it beautiful?”
The hands shoot up like spring flowers as the students tell him they reuse and recycle, they don’t pollute, and they want to keep the air clean.
They also learn what consumes the most power in their own homes and other tips to save energy like taking shorter showers, fixing leaky taps and drafty windows, to wash clothes in cold water, and to only run the dishwasher when it’s full.
“Remember these messages, do them every day and pass along the messages to others,” says Hameister-Ries.
