Youth, Seeds and Dreams

Students have big dreams when it comes to sustainability. Royal Oak Middle School wants to restore the stream traversing school grounds, whereas Claremont High School is looking at  ways to curb the school’s carbon footprint by charging a parking fee, which will then fund other sustainability projects. The list goes on: school gardens, safe and pleasant social spaces (ie. picnic tables outside), fundraising for low flush toilets, establishing solar panels, and hosting the Climate Change Relay 500, a sustainability fundraiser taking place later this spring.

At the Sustainable Schools Workshop, hosted by Royal Oak Middle on February 19, students and teachers alike invited their sustainability dreams to spill forth, filling the drawing board to its capacity. There were a total of 22 students from Claremont High School, Royal Oak Middle School and Cordova Bay Elementary School who took part in the day’s events.

Erik from Extreme Kindness kick-started the day, matching students’ passions to their actions through a motivational and inspiring slide-show. Students then launched into community-mapping, locating the preexisting assets at their schools while ear-marking pertinent sustainability projects. Action planning ensued to ensure the fruition of projects by year-end. And what better way to learn a love for the environment, but to have a first-hand, positive experience as an eco-steward?

Habitat Acquisition Trust provided students with 80 native plants, including all the necessary tools and instruction to facilitate the restoration of a Garry Oak Meadow Restoration on Royal Oak Middle school grounds. Judy from Yes BC (on the left in the picture) was also at hand to help with the planting.

Dreams are the seeds of sustainability. And there is no shortage of seeds to sow. However, one of the biggest challenges is in sustaining continuity in these efforts. How do we nurture, care and feed these growing seedlings? Fostering inter-generational relationships knits together the fabric of a rich and nutritious soil in which these seeds can be sown. Communities, young and old, have a role in passing forth the passionate and committed conservation work happening at all levels of society. Last Friday, the Sustainable High Schools workshop created a space in which high school, middle school and elementary school students came together to learn from each other.

Grade 5 students from Cordova Bay and Grade 7 Royal Oak students sat wide-eyed as Claremont High students spoke directly to them: “You guys are already way ahead of us [in working towards sustainability]. You already know so much more than us, at your age. Climate Change didn’t exist in our world at your age. And you’ve already worked so hard to make a positive change.”

Sustainable High Schools continues to foster a sustainable lineage by creating mentorship and leadership opportunities for local high school students interested in Sustainability.