Students energized after NB power field trip

Students from Bathurst High School went to NB Power in Belledune for a class trip on November 14. Environmental Science 120 students went to NB Power to learn about energy and what kinds of employment opportunities are available at the facility.
The students on the trip learned a lot, but one feature of the trip stood out to everyone: the see-through floors and heights. Students could see all the way down to the 1st floor all the way from the 50th floor. A lot of the students on the trip were afraid of heights and some say it helped their fear of heights or made it tremendously worse. The tour guide sympathized with the students, saying their first month working there and about how scared they were with the heights, but they got used to it and are not afraid of heights anymore.
If students were not scared of the heights, they feared the elevator. The elevator was so fast it would go from floor 1-20 in the span of 10 seconds. Some also say when the elevator stopped it felt like the elevator was going to drop just like a thrill ride.
Before the trip, some students were excited with anticipation. “I’m so excited to see what it’s like working for NB, being able to control the whole New Brunswick Power, until I realized how scary it is because of the see through floors and the fast elevator,” Madison Legacy said.
Teacher Renee St.Onge said the purpose of the trip was “to learn about sustainable energy and NB power’s efforts to move in that direction. They also had a chance to explore various careers in trades” Mrs. Renee said. “I thought it was great that some of the students who were looking at trades had a chance to chat with people in the field and were given advice on courses and college pathways. I also liked learning that NB power was currently testing coal alternatives in power generation in an effort to move away from coal dependency in 5 years.”
– Tanisha Paulin