For Alexandra, it began with a packet of seeds given by an uncle. For 11-year-old Simon, his love for trees came from learning about salmon habitats during a trip to a nature centre. For the students of a Surrey public school, their reasons varied from simply wanting to do something about forest fires, to reading about why glaciers are in full retreat.

These are some reasons why kids came to a workshop to build their own solar ovens at a mall in a Vancouver suburb. These young people say they'll use their solar ovens for camping. Solar ovens may even bring more people outdoors, as bonfire permits in BC get more restrictive due to the risk of forest fires.

Free, hands-on, open-to-anyone sustainability mall events are a new trend in BC. They started just a year ago, when Solar Power Roadshow brought together the Raging Grannies, Vancouver councilors, electric bikes, a pop music band, and a baking contest at a local mall.

Another mall event that made local papers' front page was an exciting tractor-pull race using remote-controlled electric skateboards. These powerful e-skateboards are used by some commuters as an alternative to the car in traffic-locked Vancouver. Then, last Halloween, we organized a used Jack-o-lantern recycling drive that brought people to a mall to drop off clean used pumpkins for eastside soup kitchens.

Thanks to another shopping mall's initiative, kids now know that sail-cars and wind turbines were used in ancient Chinese. Sail-wagons and sail-carts were even used to build the Great Wall of China. Humans used sail-wagons for 3,500 years. Germany had a sail-train between two cities that stopped only 40 years ago. Sail-power is coming back, as oil supplies shrink. Some European ocean-going container ships are wind-assisted. With help from mall staff, we led kids in a hands-on sail-car workshop, which they decorated, raced, and took home with pride.

Why do people come to malls for energy sustainability events? More than one person said they're concerned about the loss of nature and the apparent lack of green transportation options. To which we replied, we came by public transit or by an electric vehicle!

Sustainable energy awareness takes many forms, including stage-magic shows that we've performed at three malls. But it's not always just a trick: A patented process that uses molecular energy powers our intriguing water devices. These magic shows always end with everyone performing the “David-Suzuki-save-a-tree-karate” exercises. Thus, everybody leaves with more energy than what they arrived with! Rob Matthies is a presenter with Solar Power Roadshow. He travels on an electric bike that will soon be charged with solar panels

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