www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 27, 2016 | 12 Morden students have a good grasp on the future by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff If the sustainability fair at W.H. Morden Public School is an indication of what Halton can expect from the next generation, the future is in good hands. The school library was abuzz May 18 as Grade 8 students shared ideas on ways to make Halton more sustainable. Parents, invited guests and students walked around to learn more about topics such as outdoor air quality and pollution, transportation, housing and the environment, sustainable apartments, the importance of biodiversity and how to sustain farmland. Ali Nelson, Justin Andre, Sophie Dittrich, Jacqueline Lee and Laura Tiberiu explained they had looked at sustainable transportation in Halton. They first explored ways of making public transportation, such as buses, meet public expectations with minimal environmental impact. However, each issue they addressed led to another issue so they opted for an alternative -- a bicycle-borrowing system. They factored in cost, funding, and a schedule, detailing in a presentation how it would operate and where more bikes and racks would be placed, based on population. "Biking is an amazing physical activity and it gets people out there more and more active," said Tiberiu. "This will make them healthier, physically and mentally." "This is completely free for any user," she noted. Lee said it would take cars off the road, relieve traffic congestion and be less polluting. Meanwhile at the other end of the fair, Matteus Nouwens, Chris Oka, Levi Bosch, Nabil Hider and Grant Zadorozny boasted the importance of supporting Halton's farmers. Noting farmers don't earn enough to support their daily operations, the students said some are selling to developers. Audrey Gonzalo, 14, explains her group's habitat preservation plan during the presentations of various sustainability projects at W.H. Morden Public School last week. | photo by Nikki Wesley Oakville Beaver "Farmland loss is a huge problem. In 1976, there were 1,035 farms in Halton and in 2011, there were 469 -- that's 566 farms lost in only 35 years," said Oka. The students blamed urbanization. The boys explained imports are growing quicker than exports and if it continues, said "We will end up in an inescapable trade deficit." Farms must be supported to create fresh, local food. "The farming industry's gross receipts benefitted the economy with $453 million in 2011," they said. "We do not have to import as much agricultural foods if we have our own farms." Among possible solutions to help farmers succeed is subsidizing small-scale farmers and providing tax incentives. Using the Egan wheel, which assesses sustainability, the students noted they were able to connect to seven points to support their idea. Subsidization would come from -- and be monitored by -- the government. That investment, in turn, would create jobs, provide the access to fresh food and could increase exports. It would also be good for the environment because the crops could help reduce CO2 in the environment. Another group addressed the role of biodiversity in building a sustainable community. Looking to the development occurring in north Oakville, the group stated the area of Sixth Line and Burnhamthorpe Road should be developed with careful consideration of the plants, animals and ecosystem in the area. Many don't realize how biodiversity affects humans, said David Ishola, Jack Pritchard and Audrey Gonzalo. "With the extinction of animals, people don't know there's going to be a largescale agriculture problem that can leave millions of people without food. We're using 25 per cent more resources than the planet can sustain. Grade 8 teacher Kim O'Driscoll said she and the Grade 8 teachers, Adam Borg and Shauna Peddle, were proud of their four classes and said many ideas could be used in the community now. "I was so impressed with their speaking and application of knowledge and just the enthusiasm with which they approached this," she said. "It was neat to see how their ideas shifted the more we learned about different sustainable communities all around the world, how they started to apply that to what they were trying to do in Halton." 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