Twenty-six youth from Evansburg, Grande Cache and Edson travelled to Jasper last weekend for the ROUTES conference, organized by the Jasper Sustainability Club for Youth.
The two-day conference, which stands for reestablishing our unity through environmental sustainability, took place at Pine Bungalows and included presentations from Jason McLennan of the International Living Future Institute, Mike Wasuita of Pine Bungalows, James Bartram of the Palisades Stewardship Education Centre, Carmen Hockett, a Métis drummer and dancer, and from the students themselves.
The event began on Friday evening, when the students arrived in Jasper. That evening, students from Jasper’s sustainability club presented the work they have done over the past few years to their peers. They shared their struggle to influence the design of the new high school, their presentations at the Living Future Conference and the SEED project, and demonstrated their work with some of the YouTube videos they have created in recent years.
“We have organized this conference so we can learn from each other,” said Mattie Smith. “We want to inspire each other and find ways to inspire traditionalists in our communities.”
McLennan tried to inspire the students as well. Joining the group over Skype, the Sudbury, Ont. native spoke of his career and how he got his start.
The self-proclaimed trouble maker, who created the living building challenge, told the students that growing up in a dirty mining town, and spending his vacations in gorgeous green parks, he knew something was wrong.
“I would always wonder why our community wasn’t as beautiful [as those parks],” he said. “I didn’t think it was right—that our environment could be so awful.”
So, after high school McLennan went to school and sought out mentors who could teach him about green design. To do that, he travelled first to Oregon, then to Scotland, then Kansas City and finally to Seattle, where he set up shop.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” he told the students, “it really matters that you follow your heart and your passion.”
Following McLennan’s talk, which answered numerous questions from the students and their teachers, the conference turned its sights outdoors for a game of capture the flag and a campfire.
For Megan Warren of the sustainability club, that was one of the best parts of the weekend. Elena Kellis agreed, although she was more enthusiastic about the treats the group made around the fire.
“We made ghost gum. That’s where you mash up a marshmallow until it’s like taffy. It changes the entire flavour of the marshmallow, it’s weird. I highly recommend it,” she said with a laugh.
The following day, Wasuita opened the day with a talk about his property and the green renovations he has been doing in recent years. In 2012, Wasuita renovated eight of his cabins to a LEED silver standard and currently he is working on renovating 12 more.
When asked about Wasuita’s presentation, Warren responded emphatically, “we love him.”
Again, Kellis agreed. “He doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to what he does; it’s always the best he can do.”
Later in the day, Hockett spoke and made a medicine wheel for the students.
Warren said it was important to have Hockett at the conference to share a different perspective.
“We get a lot of the business perspective—architects or from Parks employees—I feel like an aboriginal perspective is a little bit different because of the culture; it’s more closely linked to nature.”
In all, the students said they were happy with the outcome of the conference, and they were excited to have planned and organized it themselves.
“I enjoyed getting to do stuff outside of school, and being able to actually host a conference was a different feel, instead of going to conferences that are already all planned out,” said Taylor Johnston, the student who was responsible for all of the technical support for the weekend.
Nicole Veerman
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