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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 24, 2009 · 10 Climate activist sees youths as Earth's best hope By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER BLUE SKIES: Renowned Canadian climate activist David Noble discusses steps youths can take to help the planet during his keynote speech at an environmental conference for students called Together Reaching Environmental Excellence, or T.R.E.E., hosted at Abbey Park High School on Wednesday, which was also Earth Day. ® Landscape Supply Inc. TOP SOIL ........... $28.50 yard TRIPLE MIX ..... $32.50 yard MULCH ................ $32.50 yard Legends ·NEW· 2½ Acre LOCAL Landscape Supply Store Halton's Largest Interlock Display and Supplier of Precious Stones TM LARGE BULK BINS AT WHOLESALE PRICES BEST PRICES IN TOWN! And So Much More! WE DELIVER Heritage Road Walkers Line ® 1150 Heritage Road (one street east of Walkers, off Mainw or North Service Rd.) Mainway Legends Landscape Supply NEW LOCATION! North Service Road Burlington FedEx ¬ Hamilton 905-336-3369 Q.E.W. Toronto ¬ Appleby Line OPEN SUNDAY 10AM-3PM ¬ Waterdown ( y ) Dundas Street (Hwy. 5) Oakville¬ OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Mainway ¬ Youths are leading the way in innovative environmental initiatives, renowned Canadian climate activist David Noble told a group of students at Abbey Park High School on Wednesday. But there is much more work to be done, he added. That was his main message as keynote speaker for an environmental conference hosted at the school called Together Reaching Environmental Excellence, or T.R.E.E, which was held by no coincidence on Earth Day. Nine local high schools signed up for the event, which resulted in more than 150 students and staff members taking part. "If you only remember one thing from today, it is that everything that you do, everything that you've done and everything that you will do, counts," Noble told the crowd. "When people put their minds together and hearts together, they can really achieve some tremendous things." Noble provided several examples of initiatives Canadian youths have recently started that have snowballed. One is 100,000 on The Hill, which will be held on Oct. 24, 2009 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The initiative was started by University of Guelph student Gracen Johnson, who heard David Suzuki tell CBC's The Hour host George Stroumboulopoulos in Dec. 2008 that it would take 100,000 students on Parliament Hill to send a clear message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper that a better climate policy is needed. "I'd encourage any of you, if you can make it, to go or organize a bus and go with students from your school," said Noble. "It is going to be a peaceful demonstration and real show of citizenship." The climate change activist also spoke about Lights Out Canada, started in 2005 by Keleigh Annau, a 16-year-old girl living in B.C. This is a national one-day event during which high schools across the country turn off their lights and spend the day learning about global warming. To date, more than 100,000 students in 10 countries have participated. Noble said there any many more examples around the world where youths are showing leadership that many people wish their political leaders would. No action is too small, he added. "There is so much room for all of us to be engaged in all sorts of different ways," he said. "There's a million and one choices, but the important thing is that you choose to do them. It doesn't matter what you choose, because everything you do counts." Noble also stressed that youths can create change by using their gifts, such as artistic talents. He spoke about taking part in an 11day excursion to Greenland hosted by Cape Farewell in September 2008. Cape Farewell is an organization that focuses on the cultural response to climate change. It brings artists, scientists and communicators together to stimulate the production of art founded in scientific research, more specifically, on the urgency of the global climate challenge. "Scientists were trying to communicate about climate change, but the word wasn't getting out, so David Buckland thought maybe scientists aren't sufficiently communicating the issue and maybe artists, who are the most creative communicators in society, could contribute something," he said. Following Noble's keynote presentation, students participated in workshops for the remainder of the day, choosing from a wide variety of topics, such as worm composting and wind turbines, and speakers like Green Party Oakville federal candidate Blake Poland and John Watson from Halton Waste Management. This is the second year of the Oakvillebased environmental conference. Last year, T.A. Blakelock served as the host for the inaugural conference. The event is being moved around among local high schools to encourage more youths to get involved. The Abbey Park High School EcoTeam of 15 students has been planning the conference since June 2008. "The purpose of the conference is to first inspire students to make environmental decisions in their own lifestyle and second, to empower them to make these changes by giving them practical ways they can be involved in their communities," said Meagan McKeen, Abbey Park High School EcoTeam co-chair and Grade 12 student. The event sponsors are the Community Foundation of Oakville, SpeakUp and the Halton Learning Foundation. "We want people to know what they can do in their lives and the little changes they can make," said Alia Jan, EcoTeam co-chair and Grade 12 student at Abbey Park. "It is a lot to ask to make a huge, broad change, but the little ones do make a difference. We need to do something to change the environment. " The message of the hope that accompanies youths, who are the future leaders of tomorrow, was also emphasized by guest speaker Kevin Flynn, Liberal MPP for Oakville. Flynn, 54, said that while his generation was proactive on certain issues, like the Vietnam War, when they were teenagers, they dropped the ball on the environment. "Somewhere along the way we got lost. Our generation sold out and started getting into money and consumerism and we stopped looking after the planet and started looking out for ourselves," Flynn said. "We can cure diseases that we couldn't cure before, we put a man on the moon, but one thing we mucked up was the environment.... But I know that your generation isn't going to sell out the way that my generation sold out."