An Ode to Global Warming
By Chloe C. Robert
Grade 7 Student, Ottawa

The great ice age 30 million years ago
Was better then now, the Earth was covered in snow
It was cool, not deathly hot
In January, snow was never sought
Unlike now, when the grass is green
Winter will never come, is what it seems

What is causing this you may ask
Well my friends, it’s the way we bask
In the sun’s rays and in our own pollution
It’s global warming, now what’s the solution?
Stop driving alone in cars for four
Use a can of hairspray a day no more

Properly this is how it’s done
We can now enjoy the sun
Instead of complaining that it’s too hot
“My hair’s poofing up” and what not
Let us be smart and reduce pollutant gas
Think well so our Earth will last

Think of the future generations
Think of their salvation
Let us keep this world in poise
And also cut down on the pollution with noise

There are many problems with us
But let us put up a fight, not fuss
To stop global warming before it’s too late
Then it’s ourselves we will hate.

Students for a Smoke-Free Moose Jaw

Forcing a vote for a by-law for smoke-free public places is a first in Canada!

Last year, our teachers began talking to us about smoking. We wanted to know more so we had a Youth Tobacco Worker come and talk to our school. We learned about what was in a cigarette, how cigarettes can make you really sick and why second- hand smoke is so dangerous. We also learned about how there are cities around the world that have become smoke- free. We found out that Moose Jaw had only a few laws protecting the people from second- hand smoke. For example, 60% of the restaurants could be smoking but the other 40% were smoke- free.

We thought about how great it would be to have a smoke-free city. We decided to see if we could get a law passed to ban smoking in all indoor public places. First we decided to visit the Mayor of our city and ask him if he could make all indoor places smoke- free. We told him that each year in Saskatchewan 1600 people die because of exposure to second- hand smoke. We told him that we don’t want to be exposed to the chemicals in second- hand smoke. Our Mayor told us that there were already laws in place and he felt that they were enough. We were not happy with his answer so with the help of our teachers we decided to put together a petition to make all indoor places in Moose Jaw smoke-free.

We wanted our smoking law to be legal and binding, so we had a petition go around our city asking for all indoor public places to go smoke- free. For the referendum to be included in the fall civic election, we needed 3200 signatures to make it valid. Putting together a petition is a lot of work so we got a committee together called the ‘People for a Smoke-Free Moose Jaw’ to help us. Our committee just kept growing and it included our teachers, nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists and other citizens too. We managed to get all the signatures in only 3 weeks!

Our city council was able to look at our petition and make some decisions. After a lot of discussions, the city council decided to ask the public to vote on the smoking issue. So on October 22nd we had a referendum on whether we should have all indoor places go smoke- free. People were allowed to vote for smoke- free places and were also able to vote if they want certain places exempted.

We had many challenges in the campaign before the referendum, and much more effort was needed to ensure that we’d achieve a positive outcome in the election. We made presentations, wrote letters, and we even made strategies to communicate the message and advertise effectively.

On the referendum day, our by-law passed by a landslide of two to one! Even the by-law for exemptions for taverns and lounges, bingo halls and casinos was defeated by almost the same majority. We became the first place in Canada to force a referendum for smoke-free public places in all of Canada. Hopefully our story can be inspiring for other communities to do the same. Other communities in Saskatchewan are already asking how Moose Jaw did it. We are proud to say that with commitment, hard work and a dream, anything is possible and everyone, even the youngest child, can make a difference!!!!

Chaminade College- Rejuvenating Black Creek
"We wanted to take on a project to rejuvenate Black Creek. We cleaned up the garbage in the creek and restocked the creek with brown trout. Through participation at the LSF conference, we were able to gain the necessary expert advice and information from community/business/government representatives to help us with the next stage of their project, the removal of concrete barriers along the Black Creek bank!"

Emery Collegiate- Sustaining Emery Creek
"We conducted chemical testing and invertebrate sampling for our project, to help improve the water quality of Emery Creek, making it more inhabitable for aquatic life."

King City Secondary- Recycling Project
"The action teams at our high school organized a student lead recycling program. We increased recycling at our school by 400% through increasing the number of recycling bins, painting them to look more colourful and make them more visible. We also worked with school administration to schedule recycling times."

Holy Cross Catholic Academy- Project Revival
"We developed a butterfly garden and bird sanctuary, a memorial peace garden and a wildflower garden at their school. After that, we had so much energy that we wanted to inspire other action teams and so we presented a summary of how we implemented our project."

Dunbarton High School- Raising Awareness Through Conference Creation
"We decided to host a sustainability conference for elementary schools in our region. The sustainability conference included student-led and community-led workshops for elementary school students. At the follow-up Youth Action Conference, we presented their success story to students, teachers, government and community organization representatives, outlining how and why we hosted this event."

Unionville High School- Recycling at Unionville High
"Our EcoAction Club attended a Youth Action Conference with the goal of gathering information needed to run the student initiated recycling program at our school. After successfully implementing that project, our Club presented the story to other students at the second Toronto Youth Action Conference. We gave other students advice on how to examine school resources, how to create a step-by-step process and how to explore potential challenges and obstacles."

Thornhill Secondary School- Sustainability Club
"After attending the spring Youth Action Conference, we decided to start a sustainability club. To kick start the club, we held an Earth Day celebration and later action projects were initiated in our school including an energy conservation program, recycling project, tree planting, and peer mentoring."

Archbishop Romero- Stream restoration, combined with school naturalization.
"We felt that that water and land restoration issues were really important to us, so we decided to do an extensive water quality monitoring program, and conservation program to clean up the Black Creek and reduce waste in the school. We learned about some cool science experiments to monitor the environment. We had so much momentum that we then decided how to plan our own recycling and clean up campaign."

Blossom Park Public School- Celebration of Life Assembly
"We developed a plan to transform the asphalt in the schoolyard into an outdoor environmental classroom, including nut tree plantings, a schoolyard naturalization project, a school recycling program and work with the Destination Conservation initiative. We finished the project, a dedication ceremony was held in memory of a staff member from the school on October 22, 2002. Our school was recently named winner of the National Wildlife Festivals Award for Excellence in Environmental Conservation. Michael Runtz, a famous interpretive naturalist, presented the award at a special reception for us!"

St. Patrick High School- A Self Sufficient Classroom
"We thought it would be fun to see if we could redesign a classroom portable that could run on alternative sources of energy. We had many brainstorming meetings together and then we presented the project to the school board of trustees. Even the local newspaper wanted to hear about our plans. The Chronicle-Journal of Thunder Bay congratulated us on our efforts!"

Frontenac Public School- Greenspace Creation
"We wanted to improve the look of the front yard of our school. We created a quiet space with greenery, benches, birdhouses, art, a fence and composter. This area will be used as an environmental study area and quiet sitting area. It will add to the overall aesthetic value of the building and enhance the neighbourhood. Students have gained an increased awareness of ecosystems, native plants, natural pesticides, and composting."