Conservation

Youth Sustainability

Hi kids!

I am going to tell you a little about what the Welland Conservation Program does to promote sustainable living.

For the second year in a row, we held out annual Youth Sustainability Conference for over 70 students from schools all around Welland. This past May 27^th, the event took place and it was a full day of education, awareness and fun for Grade 7 and 8 students from 16 Welland elementary schools. Participants from the Public, Catholic and French Catholic boards were all in attendance. The conference included learning activities, guest speakers, presentations, discussion groups and competitions, all with the goal of teaching the leaders of tomorrow about the importance of environmental sustainability and how they can act locally. Technology was also incorporated into the teachings. Courtesy of Niagara College, each school was given a laptop to work off of for the day.

Three seminar rotations were held in the morning, each run by a member of the Conservation Program. Agriculture and the importance of buying local foods, water and energy conservation were all discussed. These three seminars aimed to give students insight into various initiatives that are taking place all around the globe and to give them optimism towards what the future has in store. In 2010, Jane Hanlon from Climate Action Niagara was the keynote speaker. In 2011, Evan DiValentino from the Niagara Sustainability Initiative contributed to the day's success as key note speaker. The Welland Horticultural Society has also donated a tree or shrub to each of the participating schools.

The day was organized and funded by the Welland Conservation Program. Additionally, student volunteers from Notre Dame, Centennial, Jean Vanier and the Mayor Youth Council were all there to lend a hand. Overall the day was a huge success and sparked an interest in students about what they can do for our future.

Thank you to Niagara College for donating the laptops:

Evan DiValentino is the founder and executive director of the Niagara Sustainability Initiative (NSI). The NSI is a not-for-profit organization with a mandate that connects government, industry, community and academia to advance the environmental and economic performance in the Niagara Region.

Should any parents, volunteers, or students have questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We are looking forward to another successful conference next June; please contact us to preregister your school at conservation@welland.ca.

Below is an article printed in the Welland Tribune on May 28th

Students learn to reduce carbon footprints