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Young people across the world are more engaged in climate change than ever before.
And while students worldwide went on strike on Friday to demand action, our Jasper High School teens talked about the Earth’s future in a series of workshops.
Displays were put on in the school’s lobby by Jasper Local Food Society, Save Mountains of Plastic, and Habitat for the Arts’ Marianne Garrah.
Garrah said: “It was great. The school had every single class come down, from Grade 9 to 12, to listen to the talk about climate change.
“The kids seemed to be well informed. There are always some that want to ruffle feathers and get a response, but if you’re having fun and learning something then that’s great.”
Adam Burns and Susan Roberts from the Food Society talked to students about the importance of food, where food comes from, healthy eating and sustainability.
Burns said: “The ice caps are melting, there is a hole in the ozone layer. We want to make sure we have a planet that is healthy for our children too.
“Here in Jasper we don’t see a lot of the effects of global warming, it happens mostly on the edges of the continents.
“But we see a lot more natural disasters than we did 100 years ago. Soon there won’t be any PEI because of oceans rising.”
When asked what their concerns about climate change were, one student said: “My greatest feat is humanity dying slowly from lack of air.”
Another said: “Jungles getting destroyed. Plantations for palm oil and coconut oil.”
Garrah said the food society did “a great job” talking about everything from transportation to how we can make a difference with our spending dollars.
