For the past 36 years, the annual Mayor’s Environmental Expo has connected students with city hall decision-makers and interested members of the public.
Over that time, the expo has expanded in both size and quality of the work being undertaken by students, going from now taken for granted concepts like reduce, reuse, and recycle to students undertaking important citizen science projects to help researchers globally.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who visited with students on June 4, said that her perception of the quality of student work has grown over the past four years.
“These students who are here are remarkable. Some of the projects they have going on, they were teaching me about solitary bees, which I did not even know was a thing, and how they mostly live under the ground,” the mayor said.
“There is a whole section over there talking about composting. There’s a bicycle you can ride to see if the amount of pedaling you do can light up things. There’s just a lot of good work happening here, and these kids are super focused on protecting the planet, making sure that future generations have an amazing life.”
Mayor Gondek said all of the students she spoke to were very interested in doing what they could locally to protect the environment and to make an impact on the world.
“The ideas that they have are worth listening to. So, the more I know about what they’re up to, the more I can advance that for them,” she said.
One of the schools that has been a long-time participant in the Mayor’s Environmental Expo has been St. Pius X School in the Calgary Catholic School District.
Sophie Mitchell, a Grade 3 teacher at the school, said that the school began their relationship with the expo in 2015.
“Every year, we take the student leads on a project, and this year, we’ve done about 25 projects. We’re presenting today three different projects,” Mitchell said.
She said that the students had built on previous work done for both pollinators as part of one of seven different City of Calgary Bee Certified Schools in the city.
“We also have vermicomposting, where all the students in our school compost all the bananas and apples… and then we give them to our worms, and our worms create the vermicasting, and we use the vermicompost to feed our pollinator garden to have healthier plants,” Mitchell said.
She said that something new for 2025 was the students doing real-life citizen scientist work, by uploading pictures of bees and other pollinators from their school garden to iNaturalist, to help researchers identify what species are doing.
Mitchell said having Calgary’s mayor speak to students about their work meant showing students that their work is both noticed and appreciated.
“I think reducing the eco footprint is so important. So, having the mayor being here today just shows them that their work that they put on for the whole school year is really something, and really appreciated. They feel like celebrities now,” she said.
Photos from the Mayor’s Environmental Expo
Hundreds of students and educators attend the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Students show off their worm project for creating better soil at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Mayor Jyoti Gondek meets with students about pollinating plants Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Students show off their projects about pollinators including solitary bees at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Students show Mayor Jyoti Gondek their projects at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
An excited student poses for a photo as part of the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Students learn about molecules that make up different types of energy products at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Students get a hands on lesson at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Mayor Jyoti Gondek rings the banana phone for healthy treats at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Mayor Jyoti Gondek meets with Indigenous students at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Students draw on the Green Line poster at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Mayor Jyoti Gondek meets the Green Line’s communication team at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Mayor Jyoti Gondek lights up the bike riding challenge for power at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Students line up to see a City of Calgary Peace Officer vehicle at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Enmax shows off its electric vehicles at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
One of the City of Calgary’s new electric Ford F150 Lightnings at City Hall in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Everygreen Theatre puts on a puppet show about urban sprawl at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at the Central Library in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Everygreen Theatre puts on a puppet show about urban sprawl at the Mayor’s Environmental Expo at the Central Library in Calgary on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY