Lakeview students featured in new mini documentary about solar power in Sask.

Students in Regina had an opportunity to explore a brand new power generation plant just outside of the city and become part of a documentary highlighting the value of solar energy in Saskatchewan.

Grade 6 and 7 students from Lakeview School ventured out to the Cowessess solar and wind plant to learn about the facility alongside local documentarian and solar advocate Stephen Hall.

Hall said he's always been interested in how kids are responding to climate change.

"It's really their future. In the next 20 years or so, they're going to become the engineers and the technicians and the folks that are installing solar," Hall told CBC Radio's Blue Sky. "I wanted to talk to them about that future."

He said he first thought about talking to kids about solar panels last summer.

After talking with his friend Jared Clarke, a teacher, he learned that grade 6 and 7 students learn about electricity generation and about human effects on the environment.

He said the timing of his documentary filming almost perfectly coincided with the launch of the Cowessess power facility.

"It's really Canada's first facility of its kind where it incorporates wind and solar and batteries," Hall said. "I was super excited that Cowessess First Nation was launching it."

Targeting a "pre-political" age group

Hall said working alongside kids in Grades 6 and 7 is great because they view the world in a pre-political way.

"They understand things in sort of a matter-of-fact kind of way, so when they learn about stuff in school… they look at it at face value," he said. "They don't get caught in the weeds of a lot of things that can be distracting."

He said he was interested to learn kids are well-informed about topics like climate change, but also look at it in an optimistic manner.

During his presentation to the students, featured in the documentary, Hall noted that less than one per cent of the power in Saskatchewan is generated by solar energy.

Hall said the students recognized that there are opportunities for solar in Saskatchewan, as the province can generate as much sunlight as Sydney, Australia year-round.

Solar energy is also becoming more accessible.

"Technology has evolved, it's become much more affordable so the economic barriers have been pretty much eliminated," Hall said. "They see that, and I think they have a sense of optimism about going forward and I think they recognize this is their future."

With files from CBC Radio's Blue Sky