December 2005 E-news

New Youth Steering Committee!

Ever wondered who’s behind this e-newsletter, and the Youth Action Center Website that goes along with it? Well, they’re both run by the Green Street Youth Engagement Program, (run, of course, by a group called Green Street.) Click here to learn about each of these programs…

And an important part of the Youth Engagement Program (the YEP) is the Youth Steering Committee (the YSC) a team of fantastic youth who do everything from help figure out how the Youth Action Centre should look to representing the YEP at conferences and events. When it comes to learning about the environment, have something to say! And in fact you can read what they have to say, as well as what they look like, by clicking here. Some of them are from last year, but many are new and we can’t wait to start working with them and their ideas!

Youth In Media

Youth In Media (YIM) is a very cool project that brings together youth from across Canada, puts them in a film studio and lets them make incredible images about environmental issues. Sound too good to be true? It’s not, and you could get involved.

Youth who are a part of YIM work with the media, environmental educators and film professionals to create Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that are broadcast on local and national television channels. When you’re a part of YIM, you learn every part of the process too – making films, writing scripts, animating, editing, and turning your commitment and passion for the environment into a real force.

There’s two different groups involved in YIM. The Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter, out of Victoria, BC, is one group, and Gumboot Productions on Galliano Island, BC is the other. Both want to focus on giving you the power to make these brilliant videos and get your ideas about environmental and social justice out there!

For more info, check out the Youth In Media website – you’ll find copies of the PSAs and ways to get involved in future projects. And, if you want to get a copy of the DVD with all the PSAs on it or of the media kit, contact the Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter.

UN Climate Change Conference

The UN Climate Change Conference is called the COP 11 – officially it’s the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties, and it’s running Nov. 28th to Dec. 9th. But really, it’s bringing nations from around the world to Montreal to talk about how to prevent dangerous climate change… because the change that’s happening around the world is happening so fast that the Kyoto Protocol and it’s greenhouse gas reductions aren’t enough to keep up. The Kyoto Protocol is a great first step, especially for spreading awareness about the climate change issue. But the world needs significant and real action soon, even now – and that’s what the COP 11 is figuring out.

And in comes the Youth Summit and Youth Delegation to the UN Conference. There’s over 100 youth from around the world coming together to make their declaration on climate change the weekend before the conference. They’re then presenting their declaration to the conference – and their ideas are a huge power and force when the conference decides what the next global steps are. They’re supported by some amazing groups too, like ENvironnement Jeunesse, Taking It Global (an online environmental youth community), and Students on Ice (who bring students to experience the effects of global warming in polar areas).

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Sign up to keep in touch with the daily happenings at the UN Conference
• Sign the Youth Summit’s Declaration on Climate Change
• Check out and post on the Youth Summit blog
• And you can take real action while they’re deciding what to do globally – the Stop Global Warming website is packed with ideas and you can join the Virtual March (and join other virtual marchers like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio).

Toyota Earth Day Scholarship

The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship is dedicated to helping youth who are passionate and active around environmental issues. Past winners of their scholarship include Alysia Garmulewicz, who organized the Green-Street sponsored Youth Climate Change Conference (click here to check out her website) after she became intensely worried about the effects of climate change in the Antarctic. If you’ve been working hard on something you’re passionate about, they’d love to hear from you.

Here’s some of the things they’re looking for:

1. Demonstrated commitment and service to community environmental issues
2. Academic achievement
3. Record of participation in volunteer and extracurricular activity at school and in the community
4. Demonstrated capacity for leadership
5. Your outstanding potential as an environmental leader

You’ve got to get your application in by January 31, 2006!

To learn more about it, click here – they’ve got application forms, links to past recipients, and more info about the program.

Aquatic Conservation Team

With the Vancouver Aquarium’s Aquatic Conservation Team (ACT), they’ll help you work on a conservation issue you care about, make an action plan and carry it out with support from their staff. They’re definitely there for you!

And their process works great. When you sign up for ACT, you:

1. Decide what aquatic issue you care about
2. Make a team of up to four students
3. Fill out their Application Form
4. Meet with a staff advisor from the Aquarium to develop a project plan
5. Come to the Aquarium to develop skills and access resources
6. Work on and complete your project with ongoing support from the aquarium staff
7. Celebrate your project success at the end of the school year!

For more, click here to go to their website, or contact Anne Cole at phone (604) 659-3478, fax (604) 659-3502 or e-mail act@vanaqua.org.