“The world needs ‘dreamers’ and the world needs ‘doers’. But most of all, what the world needs is dreamers who do.”
- Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Each dollar that we spend, each gesture that we pose, is a ‘vote’ for the kind of world in which we want to live.”
- Laure Waridel

Representing an Entire Generation’s Voice

The Struggle and Success of Green Street Youth at the 5th World Environmental Education Congress

When we walked into the 5th World Environmental Education Congress in Montreal a couple of weeks ago, we immediately knew that something was missing. Where were the other youth delegates? It was a bit disappointing to see that we were the only youth there, after really looking forward to hearing what other people our age were doing to change the world.

On the second evening, the Green Street exhibit hosted a cafe discussion, where other exhibitors and delegates came together to discuss sustainability education.

Slowly, the conversation turned to discussing the lack of youth present at the event; and everyone agreed that it would be beneficial to voice our opinions to the rest of the delegation, in hopes of increasing youth presence at future conferences. So, the next two days were spent figuring out just HOW we could get our voice heard in front of several thousand conference attendees. The next day, we were told that a few people had spoken to the conference co-chair, and he agreed that we, the youth, would get a chance to share our thoughts at the closing ceremonies. Graciously, the co-chair was going to give us one
minute of his already limited speech time! We were ecstatic!

Then, on the last day, we were told that we would not be able to read the statement we wrote, because of time constraints with the closing ceremonies. It was going to have to be read during the co-chair’s speech. This was upsetting, but we took some time to think about it. While we were thinking about whether we would go through with writing our speech, the coordinator of the Arts Niche (a group of workshops that explored environmental education and the arts) approached us and gave us the opportunity to be a part of their presentation so that we could speak in front of the other conference delegates, and not just have a statement read on our behalf.

Nobody but Green Street and the Arts Niche knew about this! At the closing
ceremonies, the Arts Niche coordinator presented her findings using pictures. She began to breathe deeply and blow up an Earth beach ball - signifying breathing ‘life’ into environmental education - and soon the entire room of over one thousand people were breathing in tempo with her! She passed the Earth off to us, to demonstrate how the responsibility of caring for the planet was being passed on to our generation. I continued to breathe ‘life’ into the globe as the rest of the group spoke about the ability of a young generation to change the world. The entire room of adults cheered and clapped! It was great!
In addition to that opportunity, the Congress co-chair also offered us a spot as part of a panel discussion to discuss three guiding questions that related to environmental education, our lives, economy and politics. We decided to take the opportunity, and chose me to represent our group. I read my speech, trying to sound both mature and youthful. When I looked to the audience, I saw the globe that we had blown up being passed around from person to person.

Although it was initially a challenge to have our voice represented at the closing
ceremonies, we ARE the next generation, and knew it was important to have our voice heard.

“We bring perspective. Passion. Energy. Experience. Creativity. Action. Hope.
Engage us. Support us in being THAT voice on the international stage.
Let’s build a sustainable future. TOGETHER, for all.”

Submitted By: Payal Patel, YAC Member

A Challenge for Summer: The 100-Mile Diet!

As the summer season is upon us, many of our families are starting to think about how great it would be to grow all our own vegetables, and others are spending countless hours outside already preparing their gardens! Whether you’re just thinking about it, or actually doing it, here is a challenge for you!

At the end of last summer, I came across a book called “The 100-Mile Diet”. Intrigued by the title, I started reading, and by the end of it, I was so inspired and wanted to try it myself! The 100-Mile Diet is an easy way to start thinking about eating locally. The basis of the challenge is to only eat foods that are grown or produced within the 100-mile radius of your home or community. Believe it or not, when the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient in their food has typically travelled more than 1500 miles from farm to plate. What better way to lighten our impact on the planet, than to avoid eating food that has been transported far distances from around the world. To learn where your 100-mile radius is and to find out more about the challenge, go to: 100milediet.org.

At first glance, this may seem pretty easy - but it will probably prove to be more than a challenge than we all think. This may mean giving up your favourite tropical fruits from the equatorial regions; but don’t worry, there are tasty local alternatives!

So, why not try eating mainly local foods this summer? Whether you decide to take the 100-Mile Diet and eat ONLY food that comes from within your 100-mile radius, or just make a conscious effort to eat MORE local foods than you normally would this season, you will lessen your impact on the Earth. Whatever you decide, you will be a serious force of positive change!

Submitted By: Kelsi Prince

Making an Impression at the 5th World Environmental Education Congress

During the 5th World Environmental Education Congress, the Green Street exhibit was a hub of activity - two book launches, ArtSmarts exhibits, demonstrations of Green Street’s new online virtual classrooms, and numerous spontaneous group discussions - being one of the liveliest and most colourful exhibits there!

Approximately seventy other exhibitors came from all over Canada and around the world, including the United Nations Environment Programme, UNESCO, the National Film Board of Canada, Dodo Lab, Students on Ice, Me to We Style, and many more.

Smart Car and Segway demonstration vehicles were also on display, giving visitors a taste of the future of transportation. The opening keynote address was given by Canadian HIV / AIDS activist Stephen Lewis, on the first evening of the Congress.

Many interesting educational sessions ran during the Congress, hosted by speakers from around the world, in three main languages - English, French and Spanish. They all related to such topics as learning in society, heritage interpretation, indigenous knowledge and practices, urban challenges and ecological identity. These sessions included a roundtable discussion hosted by your very own Youth Advisory Committee, entitled “The How-To for Youth Engagement”.

A sincere effort was made on the part of the Congress organizers to make this an environmentally responsible event. Trees were planted at the opening of the Congress on nearby Mont-Royal, in an effort to offset the carbon emissions created by participants’ travel to Montreal. Recycling and compost bins were located through the ‘Palais de Congres’ venue alongside garbage cans, in order to effectively divert waste.

The cutlery used at the dining facilities was made from potatoes and was fully compostable. The bags that were given to all participants were made in Quebec from recycled materials. These efforts embodied the spirit of the Congress; innovation, creativity and environmental protection.

Plans are already in the works from the next two World Environmental Education Congresses, to be held in Brisbane, Australia in 2011 and in Marrakech, Morocco in 2013. Start saving for your plane tickets now - you will not want to miss them!

Submitted By: Rachel Ginsberg, YAC Member

Uniting to Change the World - La Marche 2/3

During a recent YAC trip to Montreal, we had the amazing opportunity to witness, and participate in, the ‘Marche 2/3’. This march is one of the biggest youth demonstrations in all of Canada - thousands of students pour into Montreal every year from all over Quebec to participate. Club 2/3 organizes this event, and is the youth division of Oxfam-Quebec, and this year, on May 15, it held the 39th annual march. Although the theme of this year’s even was climate change, the underlying message of the march every year is solidarity in all social and environmental issues.

Upon our arrival at Lafontaine Park, the starting park of the march, we immediately witnessed the solidarity and passion among the participants; not just because of the sheer number of people gathered together, but also because of the infectious energy in the air. Hundreds of volunteers lined the streets, pointing the 15,000 participants in the right direction. There were people giving free hugs, people waving banners and chanting; the atmosphere as a whole was incredibly upbeat.

As we made our way down the streets, people waved out the windows of their homes, construction workers stopped their work to cheer us on. A number of exciting and meaningful stunts took place throughout the march; such as when volunteers on bikes channeled a Hummer off the road. Or, perhaps the most inspirational moment of the day was the minute of silence. It is not every day that you witness 15,000 being silent, holding peace signs above their heads. It is not every day that you see 15,000 youth united to make the world a better place. It is not every day that you are truly filled with such hope for our future.

Check out a few photos of our experience at the march here!

Submitted By: Amy Jiang, YAC Member

Matt’s Resource Review

The Canadian Environmental and Communication Network (EECOM) is a national charity network for environmental learning. Their main goal is to advance environmental learning that helps Canada lead and healthier and more sustainable future. They mainly work with different levels of government, universities, kindergarten to grade twelve schools, the private sector, industry, autonomous workers, retirees and non-government organizations. EECOM is helping Canadians realize that we have to make a change to fix our world, because our global environment is being negatively impacted quicker than
ever. As a community of environmental educators and communicators, EECOM has played a key role in developing current levels of awareness. EECOM helps to bring similar organizations together and initiate community efforts. They are addressing today’s environmental challenges head on, while at the same time, empowering adults and youth alike to use their skills to make a positive impact on the world.

Submitted By: Matthew Warnock, YAC Member