Looking forward to more sustainable solutions from our local youth in 2022

Today, September 7th, is the first day back for our Kelowna students. After an unsettling summer here with wild fires, pandemic concerns, local and international front page news that was often heartbreaking, we begin a new school year. September offers a fresh start. As summer comes to a close and the new season begins, it is a time to refocus, create and set goals. As a former teacher, I always looked forward to this time of year. As the coordinator of the Sustainable Development Challenge for the past five years, I am anticipating meeting new teams for our Project and Pitch, encouraging artists of all kinds to create for Arts for Social Change and hoping to work with some budding film makers in Plan B Video who want to share their message on the Goals. I have a feeling this will be our biggest year to date! So many youth are ready to express themselves in positive ways and offer ideas and solutions to some of the issues our world is facing. With a federal election in a couple of weeks, we are in a state of change and it is exciting to see so many youth running for political office in our area. This is their time! This generation is learning how to navigate massive upheaval, adapting expectations and accepting new realities-and they are doing it with a positive attitude and seem to be driven by a strong passion to forge ahead into a new way of doing things.

Our top teams from last February must be recognized for their success. They all continue to build their three projects addressing animal protection with Our Voice for Change, School-wide composting with OKM Composting and open dialogue with issues that matter to our young generation thanks to Zed Ed Podcast. All three teams have been implementing their projects. Our Voice for Change has used some their $5000 funding to purchase school-wide apps for science teachers that offer an alternative to animal dissection. They have also started the process of rewriting school district policy on student choice to opt our of dissections and they continue to be leaders in their school and supporting new teams for this year’s Challenge. Their work won them recognition for leadership with Society for Humane Science award. OKM Composting currently has 40 compost bins located in classrooms and around Okanagan Mission School. Their partnership with Spa Hills Compost has been a success and the weekly pick ups at the school are a visual reminder that this school, from Administration to students, are committed to reducing their footprint with waste. Zed Ed Podcast continues to work with Staples Studio in Kelowna and currently has 15 episodes of their podcast online on Spotify and other top streaming sites. They are starting conversations on issues that matter to their peers in hopes of providing a safe place to discuss important content that relates to the initiatives of the Global Goals. This will have impact in creating confidence in our future leaders.

Our arts students had some great connections as well. Shannon Gica worked with United Way and her art focusing on Global Goal #10, reduced inequality, is featured on their public handout to donors. Lincoln Griffin surprised our local RDCO at Mission Creek with his $50 award and presented them his artwork depicting the importance of clean water in our ecosystems- Global Goal #6.

It was a great day last March presenting three cheques to teams at Constable Neil Bruce Middle school for their video compilations depicting Gender Equality- Goal #5 and Youth Mental Health- Goal #3

The young people in our city continue to inspire and amaze me. Their youthful passion and energy are so needed in these times. I look forward to working alongside them again this year and encourage all supporters of youth and sustainability to get to know our students: reach out to them on their social media, help us raise awareness about our Challenge platform, donate to student’s projects or offer your time and expertise to support their ideas related to the 17 transformative Global Goals. Our 2022 Finale date is set for Feb, 24th. The planning has begun to continue our work this year with our partners to offer a voice for our youth! Join us.