Contributor: Elysia Delgarno, Grade 12, Mountainside Secondary

From September to January, students from Mountainside’s Social Justice, Marketing, and Sustainability classes had the opportunity to collaborate with the Capilano University’s Counting on Action Enactus team.

Over those five months, students learned how to successfully create a business with a focus on the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social.

We were taught marketing strategies, such as how to find our ideal target market, as well as the importance of the four P’s: price, product, place, and promotion. After we had spent months creating, selling, and promoting our business, Capilano University students, who were assigned to our school, helped us prepare for the finale of the program - a friendly competition, bringing together 22 groups from 9 different schools, each with a unique business plan to wow the judges.

At Mountainside, my classmates and I chose to create functional home décor out of driftwood from West Vancouver’s Dundarave beach. In addition to our creations, our mission was to bring awareness to preserving our marine and coastal habitats. Along the way, we were able to collect over 85 lbs of garbage and sell over $230 of products. This money was donated to the charity of our choice: Ecojustice.

Although only three groups came out on top (Mountainside claiming third, Chatelech coming in second, and Elphinstone winning first) every student who participated in the program has come out a stronger, more confident entrepreneur.