Regina 'YES' Network

YES Network Has a New Webpage!!

2011-12-15T16:46:00.000-06:00

The Regina YES Network has a new webpage! To visit the new webpage click HERE or visit http://www.yesnetwork.ca/!

Thanks for visiting!

Kathleen

Look What Some Saskatoon Students Are Doing!

2011-07-20T13:45:00.000-06:00

Below is the article from the Saskatoon Star Pheonix about a group of students in Saskatoon partnering with the city to help educate the public on the city's new green energy park. Awesome!
For full article, click Here

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A class of Saskatoon students will play a role in educating the public about the city's new green energy park.

The Aden Bowman Earthkeepers class is designing promotional materials for Saskatoon's "green energy park," a complex that will include a wind turbine, methane gas collection facility and a turbo-expander, which will collect energy from a SaskEnergy natural gas regulating station on the site. As part of the collaborative project, students also met with graduate students from the University of Saskatchewan school of environment and sustainability to learn more about green energy.

"I thought it was a great opportunity to make our learning experiences in the school more meaningful. The project is incredibly relevant because it's actually happening," said teacher Jared Regier. Regier leads the innovative five-credit Earthkeeper course, which has Grade 10 students immersed in the subject of sustainability, self-sufficiency and community development for a semester.

Next week, their work on the city's green energy park educational materials will be one of 17 Saskatchewan projects recognized by the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development, an organization acknowledged by the United Nations University for its contribution to education for sustainable development.

"It's really important to work with future leaders and give them the skills necessary to provide a sustainable future for everyone," said Kevin Hudson, alternative energy engineer for the City of Saskatoon. Hudson spent time in the classroom with the Grade 10 students to answer questions about the project, and on a Monday morning the students were busy questioning him on the specifics of the proposed wind turbine project.

"I like the idea of having a windmill in the city, to show how it's feasible," said Anthony Barss, a student in the Earthkeepers program. Barss and his partner Charlie Freeman were busy in front of the com-puter working on a brochure about the proposed wind turbine.

"It's good to give back to your community and give them more information and help them to understand how the simplest things can make you more sustainable," said Freeman.

The project has met with criticism, but students say they're in favour of the energy park.

"We're not doing much with that space other than dumping garbage on it. Why wouldn't we use that to our advantage?" said Freeman.

The wind turbine portion of the energy park could be on board as early as summer 2013. A test tower is up at the landfill, which is measuring wind speeds. So far research has shown the project will power between 450 and 600 homes.

"Saskatchewan residents have among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the world. Part of the focus is on why these types of projects are important," said Hudson. With all components on board, the project has the potential to power about 6,000 homes, generate a profit and provide up to 10 per cent of the city's electricity.

jstewart@thestarphoenix.com

Summer Holidays! Woop!

2011-06-29T13:42:00.001-06:00

Well everyone, the school year has officially come to a close. The weather is hot, students are off on summer holidays and I'll be joining them soon. Though I may add the occasionally posting over the summer, the website will be pretty quite. However, we'll be back in September! And hopefully with a new and updated website, including a youth action project resource section!

In September we will be launching the third year of the YES Network. I will also be attending The Co-operators IMPACT! Conference in Guelph and should have lots of great things to share.

Until then, here are some words of advice from David Suzuki on how to become a true environmentalist.

Cheers!

Kathleen

How to Become An Environmentalist
By David Suzuki
Taken From the David Suzuki Foundation Science Matters Blog
Young people often ask me what they have to do to be environmentalists. They want to make a difference. My answer is, "Follow your heart. Do what you love most and pursue it with passion."

You see, environmentalism isn't a profession or discipline; it's a way of seeing our place in the world. It's recognizing that we live on a planet where everything, including us, is exquisitely interconnected with and interdependent on everything else.

Life-giving water moves from ocean to air to land, across the globe, linking all life through the hydrologic cycle. Every breath we take contains oxygen from every plant on land and in the sea, as well as whatever issues from every factory chimney and vehicle on Earth. The web of all living things constantly partakes of and cleanses, replenishes, and restores air, water, soil, and energy. In this way of seeing the world, we are not only recipients of nature's most vital gifts — we are participants in her cycles.

Whatever we toss without a thought or deliberately dump into our surroundings doesn't simply vanish or dilute away. Our use of air, water, and soil as garbage dumps means that those emissions and pollutants move through the biosphere, ecosystems, habitats, and eventually our own bodies and cells.

Environmentalism is recognition of this. We need all people — plumbers, teachers, doctors, carpenters, garage mechanics, businesspeople, artists, scientists — to see and understand the world that way because once we "get it", we treat our surroundings in a radically different way, with the respect that we should have toward our own bodies and loved ones.

For most of human existence, we were hunter-gatherers who understood how deeply embedded in and utterly dependent on nature we were. Until we underwent the massive transformation from agrarian life to big-city dwelling, people knew that we were part of nature and needed nature for survival. We watched the skies for hints of a change in weather or for the first sighting of migrating birds. We welcomed the appearance of buds on the bushes, the first signs of spring thaw, or the indicators that winter was on its way.

Today we spend less and less of our time outside. I have a friend who lives in the north end of Toronto in an air-conditioned highrise building. On weekdays, he goes down the elevator into the basement where he climbs into his air-conditioned car to drive the Don Valley freeway to the air-conditioned commercial building where he works. That building is connected through a series of tunnels to vast shopping malls and food marts. "I really don't have to go outside for days," he once told me.

Ours is a shattered world, with torrents of information assaulting us from every angle. Headlines may scream of the aftermath of a hockey playoff or a devastating tornado in the southern U.S., and then trumpet Oprah's last TV program and another sex scandal. And then we hear of floods in Pakistan or Manitoba, forest fires raging in northern Alberta, and thinning sea ice in the Arctic, retreating glaciers, and drought in rainforests.

Reports about floods and droughts and sea ice and climate change get sandwiched between clips about scandals and celebrities, and so we view them as isolated events. An environmental perspective would consider the possibility that many of the events are connected to an underlying cause. Such a perspective would help us get to the root of problems rather than trying to stamp out brushfires without identifying the source of a conflagration.

We tend to think of environmentalists as folks concerned about nature or an endangered species or threatened ecosystem. Environmentalists are accused of caring more for spotted owls or trees than people and jobs. That's absurd. In seeing a world of interconnections, we understand that people are at the heart of a global ecocrisis and that genuine sustainability means also dealing with issues of hunger and poverty, of inequity and lack of justice, of terrorism, genocide, and war, because so long as these issues confront humanity, sustainability will be a low priority.

In our interconnected world, all of these issues are a part of the unsustainable path we are on. If we want to find solutions, we have to look at the big picture.
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What did students say about the EECOM Conference?

2011-06-27T13:42:00.000-06:00

Here is what students had to say about their experience at the EECOM Conference!

Brought to you by wordl.com

EECOM 2011 - YES Network Year End

2011-06-15T13:47:00.002-06:00

A student models her recycled

art dress!

On Thursday, June 9th over 25 YES Network students had the opportunity to attend the Canadian Network for Environmental Communication (EECOM) 2011 National Conference, which took place at the University of Regina. Students got to attend keynote speaker and founder of the Story of Stuff Project Annie Leonard, got to participate in conference workshops and took part in a special afternoon workshop with Annie Leonard, which was hosted by the Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG). Students also set up displays on their school projects for the EECOM Eco Fair, which ran all day.

In addition to the excitement of Thursday's events, students were invited to participate in a Recycled Clothing Fashion Show for the EECOM Awards Dinner. The awards took place on the Friday night of the conference at the Saskatchewan Science Centre. Students from Thom Collegiate and Winston Knoll Collegiate modeled off some incredible outfits made completely of reclaimed and repurposed materials. Materials used in the outfits included newspaper, old magazines, Kool-Aid jammer containers, old decks of cards, pop can tabs, used dryer sheets and old dress patterns. It was one of the highlights of the night!!

The EECOM National Conference in held annually throughout Canada. This year's conference was held in Regina and was hosted by SOEEA. Over 150 local, national and international delegates attended the conference which ran from June 8th to 11th at the University of Regina.

Thanks so much to the Saskatchewan Outdoor and Environmental Education Association (SOEEA) and the EECOM Organizing Committee for inviting us to participate! We learned a lot and had fun!

To learn more about EECOM or SOEEA and how you can get involved, check out the links below!

EECOM - http://www.eecom.org/

SOEEA - http://www.soeea.sk.ca/

Kathleen

YES Network at the EECOM 2011 National Conference

Two students from Campbell Collegiate pose with Annie Leonard

Thom Collegiate with the wonderful Annie!

Winston Knoll strikes a pose with Annie Leonard

O'Neill Green Squad Display!

Fashion show participants!

A Thom Student models off her dress and matching coat. Incredible!

The top is made out of pop can tabs
and the skirt made out of used dryer sheets!

Dress made of newspaper created
by students at Thom Collegiate

Students from Winston Knoll Collegiate

model his and hers outfits

Dress made of old sets up playing cards

Thom students model their creations!

Me modeling the dress coat - made from

old dress patterns and bottle caps!

Planting Trees at Thom Collegiate

2011-06-15T10:56:00.000-06:00

It is finally Spring! Students and teachers at Thom Collegiate are getting right to work. Members of Thom Going Green spent an afternoon planting trees and berry bushes around their school in effort to green their school yard. It is the second annual tree planting event the school has pursued.

Why Green A School Yard?

By greening schools yards we are transforming these spaces into dynamic centers for teaching & learning, health & fitness, and improving life in the community.

At Thom Collegiate, trees were put in around the perimeter of a playing field. Planting trees and bushes will provide students to learn about horticulture. It improves the space and use of their school grounds by creating a natural wind barrier. By planting fruit bearing plants, they will contribute to the community. So many benefits to greening a school yard!

Funding Opportunities

If you or your school are interested in greening your school yard, there are many organizations out there that can assist you:

Evergreen Canada: A Toyota sponsored organization that provides resources and grants to schools to pursue school yard greening projects.

Earth Day Community Fund: Will provide grants up to $20,000 to student groups to pursue environmental projects.

Check it out!

Kathleen

Happy Earth Day From the YES Network!

2011-04-21T15:10:00.003-06:00

Earth Day is quickly approaching! YES Network students have been busily promoting activities through their schools!

Bake Sale At O'Neill High School

School Yard Clean Up at Sheldon Williams

What is Earth Day All About?

Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylor Nelson as an environmental teach to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. Earth Day events were coordinated throughout the 70s and 80s in the United States. In 1990, the day went international with an effort to organize events in 141 nations. The United Nations designated April 22nd as International Mother Earth Day in 2009.

Today Earth Days is celebrated in more than 175 countries and is coordinated internationally by the Earth Day Network. Numerous Communities have now started celebrating Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues.

To find Earth Day Events in your community on the Earth Day Canada Website.

Check out the Earth Day Canada Video:

What are others doing to lesson their environmental impact for Earth Day:

I hope all of you have a really wonderful International Mother Earth Day! (and a coinciding Happy Easter!)

Kathleen

Luther Clothes Swap!

2011-03-02T14:45:00.001-06:00

"Why buy new clothes when there are so much used clothing in good condition out there? It helps the environment and saves you money!"

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In the spirit of one of our favourites Rs, REUSE, students at Luther College High School organized a school wise clothes swap to get students thinking wearing used clothes.

The students launched the event during a Chapel they hosted at their school. Students got teachers to perform a skit about swapping clothing and then showed a clip from The Story of Stuff. Though I wasn't there, inside sources say it was very well done!

The clothes swap ran for a week. Students were encouraged to go through their closets and donate those clothes they don't wear anymore. Students were then invited to walk through the clothes swap and pick up a new wardrobe.

This was a really neat project to get students to think about the importance of used clothing. Great job, Luther! You should be very proud!

Kathleen

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Want to learn more about where your stuff comes from? Click to watch The Story of Stuff.

Want to buy to know where to buy second hand clothes in Regina? Check out these shops:

Blue Mantle Thrift Shop - 1925 7th Avenue

Regina MCC Thrift Shop - 2741 Dewdney Avenue

Rhoda's Elegance Again - 2040 Park Street or 3839 Albert Street

Salvation Army - 836 Albert Street

Value Village - 1230 Broad Street

Or grab your friends and organize your own clothes swap! Click HERE to find out how.

Happy SWAPPIN'!

Regina Environmental Film Festival

2011-03-01T10:09:00.000-06:00

The 5th Annual Environmental Film Festival will be coming to Regina on March 4th and 5th at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Come out and enjoy two evenings of inspiring environmental films as well as a chance to honour some local environmental heros.

Admission is FREE! (Donations gladly accepted.) Concession will be available.

Friday, March 4th

7:00 pm - Flow (93 mins)

The case against the growing privatization of the world's dwinding fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

8:50 pm - Environmental Activist Awards

Come out and participate in honouring some outstanding local environmental activists!

2011 Award Recipeints: Trevor Herriot, Glenn Sutter, Lyle Benko

Saturday, March 5th

7:00 pm - The Pisim Project (45 mins)
A Saskatchewan made film that follows a group of students in Cumberland House, SK as they design and build an energy efficient house.

8:00 pm - Home (120 mins)
Award winning, this visually stunning film has a clear message: the Earth, the place we call home is in trouble, and we are largely responsible.

Fore more information, please contact SCIC at 757-4669 or scic@earthbeat.sk.ca or visit http://www.royalsaskmuseum.ca/.

Making Paper with Winston Knoll

2011-01-12T17:42:00.006-06:00

As a fun Christmas project, students at Winston Knoll Collegiate decided to make their own Christmas cards. Using previously used paper, leaves and drier lint, students learned how to make their own recycled paper. They then decorated them up for the holiday season and sold them to classmates.

Making their own paper was easy and fun. To learn how to make your own paper, you can check out this very helpful Wiki!

You can also follow along as we create it below...

How Winston Knoll Collegiate Made Holiday Cards

Step 1 - Creating the Pulp: Students ripped up the previously used pieces of paper and placed in a blender. They then added leaves, drier lint, etc... We also put in a bit of glue or starch. We tried both. We then filled up the blender to the top with water and blended it all up. We then let it sit for twenty minutes. This is what is looked like as we let it sit.

Step 2 - Making the Paper: We filled a large basin or tub with water. We then added our pulp mix to the water and mixed, so that the pulp become suspended in the liquid. Then, using our own homemade screen (sorry, no picture - check out the wiki link above to see how to make), placed the screen at the bottom of the tub. We held the screen at the bottom of the tub for five minutes, to allow the paper to settle on the screen. An alternative would have been to weigh down the screen somehow so it did not float.

Step 3 - Getting Rid of Excess Water: When we removed the screen from the basin, we used a sponge to squeeze out excess water from the paper formed on the screen.

Step 4 - Setting it Out to Dry: We then removed the newly formed paper from the screen. I used the "dropping the screen on the counter until the layer falls off" method. We then set out the paper to dry.

Step 5 - Creation of the Cards: Students then cut the paper into smaller cards. A very helpful art teacher created a stamp that could be used to easily stamp designs into the card with paint. Students spent a lunch hour cutting paper and stamping.

Step 6 - VOILA!

Happy Paper Making!

Kathleen

Merry Christmas From the YES Network

2010-12-23T14:32:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone,

I was going to write a blog post about tips for a green Christmas. However, I think David Suzuki's blog does it just so much better!

Check out the link HERE to see the David Suzuki Foundation's 'Five Tips for a Happy, Healthy and Green Holiday Season.'

I hope all of you have a very happy, safe and warm festive season!

See you in January!

Kathleen

O'Neill High School Update: Ramping Up Recycling

2010-12-06T13:36:00.001-06:00

Students at O'Neill High School have been running their own recycling program for the past few years. Students collect bottles and cans from the school and take them into SARCAN for deposit. The money raised then goes towards environmental projects that the students pursue, including last year's sensor lights project.

After the disappearance of a few bins over the summer, the O'Neill Green Squad decided to purchase new bins and paint them. Not only are they doing something great for the environment, but they are also adding new art to the hallways at their school!

Here are a few pictures from the painting day! Great job, Green Squad!

Want to learn more about SARCAN and all the things you can take there to be recycled? Click HERE to visit their website!

Til next time,

Kathleen

IMPACT! 2011 Applications Launched!

2010-12-01T12:03:00.000-06:00

Applications are now open for university and college students to apply to IMPACT! 2011

IMPACT! The Co‑operators Youth Program for Sustainability Leadership is an ongoing program that begins with pre-conference preparation work and networking, includes an in-person conference, and involves ongoing post-conference activities that enable participants to: apply for seed funding, access training and internship opportunities, and utilize platforms for ongoing learning, networking and collaboration

The keystone of the program is the in-person conference which will be held in Guelph in September 2011. The Co‑operators is again working closely with our program partners; The David Suzuki Foundation, The Natural Step Canada, the University of Guelph, The University of Saskatchewan Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, Wilfrid Laurier University, Lambton College, Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario, AIESEC and the Network for Business Sustainability to offer the three-day bilingual conference that will bring together students from all fields of study to develop and implement real sustainability solutions and to create lasting networks. This year’s program will also involve alumni facilitators from the first conference held in 2009.

Conference Details:

Sept. 15-18, 2011 at the University of Guelph, Ontario
165 university and college students from across Canada will be selected to participate
Leading key-note speakers including Dr. David Suzuki
Opportunity to work on tangible sustainability solutions with business and academic leaders; and build lasting relationships

Do you know a post secondary student who is a passionate sustainability leader at their school or in their community? Check out the website for more information Here!

It would be great to see some Saskatchewan representation and YES alumni attend!

Cheers,

Kathleen

Saskatchewan Cooperative Assocation Newsletter - YES Featured!

2010-11-30T13:36:00.000-06:00

Hi there,

I just wanted to share a link to the Saskatchewan Cooperative Assocation's November Newsletter. They did a feature on the YES Program with photos! You can find it on pages three and four of their newsletter. To get to their newsletter, click Here.

Kathleen

Town Planning Day 2010

2010-11-29T17:37:00.003-06:00

Students Get First Hand Look At City Planning

On November 8th, the City of Regina hosted 14 YES Network participants for the first ever Town Planning Day at Regina City Hall. Students spent the entire day at City Hall going through a series of workshops relating to different aspects of city planning. Town Planning Day is part of an international day for cities to educate and engage citizens in city planning.

Throughout the day students had an opportunity to learn and apply knowledge related to water systems management, community organizing and strategic planning. They had a chance to meet Regina’s city councillors, they had a crack at creating their own city and were invited to attend a city council meeting. It was a great learning experience into all that goes into planning a city! Thanks to the City of Regina's Sustainability Outreach Coordinator Sheri Birkeland for making it all happen!

Here are a few comments from students about the experience:

"After attending this event and seeing the good extent of work these people
do in their fields simply by majoring in physics, chemistry and or
communications, this has opened a whole new field for me! The best part of all,
you’re doing it to improve your own city!"

"It was a valuable experience that really made a difference to me. It game
the city a face (faces, rather) that I could identify with and gave me
connections to government that are useful. It gave me an interest in how my city
is run and may motivate me to present to Council in the future."

Words students used to describe the day: (hit link to view larger image)

It was a really awesome learning experienced. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Kathleen

Learning about storm water drainage

A Chance to Be City Councillors

Awesome Workshops

Community Development and Cooperation

A chance to build their own city!

A visit with Mayor Pat Fiacco

"We heart Regina!"

How much fun was Town Planning Day? This much fun.

YES Network Youth Leadership Forum 2010

2010-11-29T17:16:00.004-06:00

The 2010-2011 YES Network program was kicked off in October with the 2nd annual YES Network Youth Leadership Forum. Approximately 70 students and 8 teachers came out for the event. It was a wonderful day of learning and sharing.

The day was split into two parts:

Morning Session - Leadership Skills DevelopmentStudents started the day with games and icebreakers. The session allowed students from different schools to meet and get to know each other. For the second half of the morning, students attended sessions on professional skills development. The Skills Workshops were developed and delivered by ED 302 from the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. The skills workshops included topics such as communication skills, how to deal with government, fundraising, media relations, marketing, research skills, project planning, decision making and how to run a meeting. Each student at the opportunity to attend two of these sessions throughout the morning with the hope they will take these skills back to their schools and apply them in their own action projects.

Afternoon Session - Open Space Dialogue w/ David NobleDavid Noble facilitated an afternoon Open Space Dialogue with students and the community members. Students were given the opportunity to lead discussion groups on topics they were interested in. There were great topics provided by the students and some pretty engaging discussions. It was a really neat afternoon!

I have attached some photos from the events of the day! Thanks to all those that came out! It was a great day!

Til next time,

Kathleen

Left: Luther High School Shows Some School Pride Right: Group Leaders for the Open Space Dialogue

Left: Workshops! Middle: The students from Winston Knoll Right: Discussion Summaries

Above: Left: David Noble kicking off the Open Space Dialogue Right: Thom Collegiate

Below: Sheldon Williams raises the roof with David Noble

YES Network in Full Swing!

2010-11-16T11:27:00.000-06:00

In the business of the past few months, the blog has been neglected! My apologies! Lots has happened. The blog is going to be utilized a lot more going forward.

Here is a recap of the past few months:

Wednesday, October 20th - YES Network Youth Leadership Forum 2010
70 students from 7 Regina and area high schools came out for a full day of leadership training, networking and discussions around environmental sustainability.

Monday, November 8th - Regina Town Planning Day
14 students were given the opportunity to spend a day as a city planner with the City of Regina. The event was hosted by the City Planning Department at the City. It was an incredible day. There was a lot of knowledge shared and some fun ways to apply it! Can't wait for next year!

In addition to these two events, schools are working on some great projects. Thom Collegiate is in full swing to fundraise for their courtyard project. O'Neill High School painted up some new recycling bins to get the recycling program up and running. Winston Knoll has been busy making paper for their Christmas card fundraising project. More updates to come!

You'll be hearing more from me!

Kathleen

EVENT: David Noble - Environmental Leadership in Action: Stories From Our Changing Climate

2010-10-10T12:03:00.000-06:00

The YES Network will be kicking off its 2010-2011 program with a very special event.

David Noble: Environmental Leadership in Action: Stories From Our Changing Climate

When: Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: Salon 1, Queensbury Downs Convention Centre, Evraz Place

Who: Everyone!
Cost: Free!

This event will be the kick off to the YES Network Youth Leadership Forum, taking place the following day! It is going to be a great event! Hope to see you all there!

Kathleen

2010 - 2011 Getting Ready to Roll!

2010-09-30T11:03:00.001-06:00

Hey out there!

Sorry for the lack of updates. The blog will be quiet no more! Things are just getting underway to kick off the 2010 - 2011 school year. At least 8 Regina and Area high schools will be participating in the network this year. It is shaping up to be another exciting year!

2010 YES Network Youth Leadership Forum - October 19th and 20th
The Youth Leadership Forum will be kicked off on Tuesday, October 19th at 7:00 pm with an evening talk by environmental activist David Noble. This event will be taking place in Salon 1 at Queensbury Downs Convention Centre. It is going to be a great night. Make sure to mark it on your calendar!

Day 2 of the event will be the Youth Leadership Forum. This year we are going to be running it from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at Queensbury Convention Centre. The day is going to be broken into two parts. The morning will be networking and leadership training sessions. ESCI 302 (Environmental Education class) from the University of Regina will be out to help lead sessions. The Youth Leadership Forum will be open to high school environmental clubs from Regina and area. Registration is required. Email me if you need some more information or a registration form.

That afternoon session is going to be something never done before in Regina! David Noble will be facilitating an afternoon open space dialogue session with forum participants and special guests. There will be no pre determined agenda or programs. The agenda for the afternoon will come from the floor during the session. The participants get to choose the topics and the format. It is going to be a great opportunity talk about the issues that are most important to YOU!

More information will be following in the coming weeks! Stay tuned!

For more information, shoot me an email at kathleen_wilson@cooperators.ca

Kathleen

5th World Youth Congress - Istanbul, Turkey

2010-08-26T13:59:00.003-06:00

Hola Amigos!

It is almost that time of year again - the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, leaves are going yellow and school is about to start! With students off and myself on holidays, the blog has been quiet for the past few months. That will be changing very soon!

In the meantime, I just wanted to share about an event I was able to participate in this summer. I had the very exciting opportunity to be a delegate to the 5th World Youth Congress in Istanbul, Turkey. 1400 young activists, artists, journalists and entrepreneurs representing 147 countries were in attendance. The conference ran from July 31st to August 13th and included cultural events, workshops, peer to peer training, community action projects and a showcase of international projects. It was hosted by Peace Child International, the Republic of Turkey Ministry of State and the Istanbul Youth Assembly.

The congress centered around the word 'imece', a Turkish world for solidarity or working together for the common good. Over the two weeks I learned a lot of lessons that I can now integrate into my work and I met some incredible youth doing some pretty amazing work around the world. It was pretty inspiring to say the least! I met two girls from Puerto Rico that started a non profit organization that tries to help girls gain self confidence through volunteering in their community. From building community to environmental issues to community art projects, youth are doing some amazing things in the world!

To learn more about it or participate in the virtual congress, check out the website here: http://www.turkiye2010.org/

I hope you all had a really wonderful summer!

Kathleen

Left: Uludag Family Group Right: Cross Cultural Sharing

Left: Outside the Blue Mosque Right: Awesome workshops!

Left: Hands on learning about local agriculture Centre: Istanbul Culture! Right: Inside the magnificent Hagia Sofia

Generating Momentum: Activist Leadership Training Camp

2010-06-14T15:24:00.001-06:00

There is an exciting event happening this summer! Two local organizations, the Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation and the Regina Public Interest Research Group, are going to be offering an Activist Leadership Training Camp in August. It will be four days of leadership training, skills development, capacity building and networking with many of Saskatchewan's youth based organizations. For more information, check out the website : http://generatingmomentum.wordpress.com/

You can find the registration on the SCIC website: http://ebeat.sasktelwebhosting.com/

Hope to see some of you there!

Kathleen

YES Network Eco Fair at Thom Collegiate

2010-06-01T16:10:00.042-06:00

The environmental club at Thom, Thom Going Green, hosted a very successful Eco Fair at their school last Friday! It was a full day of events including a community fair of local organizations and businesses, a windmill competition, workshops by EYES Summer Camp from the University of Regina, presentations by all of the school environmental clubs, a keynote talk from Curtis Dorosh and a showcase of all of the school projects! It was an incredible day of activity. Thom did a great job hosting the event!

The day kicked off at 9:30 am with opening remarks from The Co-operators and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. About two hundred elementary school students and 100 high school students were present, as well as special guests from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, Regina Public Schools and local government.

Left: Proud Thom hosts Right: Action in the Eco Fair

Curtis Dorosh was the keynote speaker of the day. He gave a fantastic talk on how the environment relates to us in our everyday lives. Each YES Network school also made a presentation on their school project this year! Great job to all the students who presented. It was to great to listen to you share your experiences! A noteable mention goes to Sheldon Williams and their very creative take on a Christmas Carol.

Left: Curtis Dorosh presents Right: "An Environmental Club Carol"

EYES Summer Camp from the University of Regina gave some great workshops during the morning to the visiting elementary students. To learn more about EYES Summer Camp visit their website here: http://eyes.uregina.ca/

Left and Right: Some great student workshops from EYES Summer Camps

The Thom Collegiate gymnasium was the site of the community fair. Over 20 orgnanizations and businesses came out to participate and share with the students for the day. Hundreds of students passed through the doors throughout the day. Along with the exhibitors, the gym also hosted a showcase of the school projects and an afternoon student windmill competition!

Left: Sheldon Williams' Eco Fair booth Right: Organic taste test

Left: The lovely folks from SCIC/RPIRG Right: Lots to learn from Kelln Solar

Left: Wonderful Windmills! Right: The competition

Thanks to everyone that came out and made the day a huge success! Thanks to all the YES Network students and teachers who represented their projects and helped to make the day run smoothly! It was a great end of the year event for what has certainly been a wonderful year! You should all be very proud!

You can check out a great article about the event from the Regina Leader Post here:

http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Thom+Collegiate+hosts+Youth+Engagement+Sustainability+Network+Fair/3085072/story.html

Awesome job!

Kathleen

Left: Welcome! Right: the Thom Going Green Booth

Left and Right: All Star Volunteers!

Left: Let's Recycle Right: O'Neil's Green Squad Booth

Left and Right: Thom students show off their environmental art!

Thom Collegiate to host YES Network Eco-Fair

2010-05-19T16:11:00.001-06:00

The end of the school year is quickly approaching! To help showcase what the schools have been working on this year, Thom Collegiate will be hosting the Regina YES Network Eco Fair on Friday, May 28th. The day will include keynote speaker Curtis Dorosh, presentations from the schools, a community fair and workshops provided by EYES summer camp at the University of Regina. It is going to be a fun-filled, fact-filled day!

For more information please contact Kathleen Wilson at kathleen_wilson@cooperators.ca.

You can learn more about EYES Summer Camp here: http://eyes.uregina.ca/

Kathleen :)

O'Neill High School Does Earth Week

2010-05-04T09:34:00.012-06:00

Earth Week was a busy week at most of the schools. O'Neill High School was no exception! The students in the O'Neill Green Squad held three fundraisers to raise money towards their sensor lights project! They have almost reached their goal to install sensor lights into all of the school's bathrooms. The fundraisers included a float sale, a bake sale and a two week sale of environmentally friendly products.

Left and Right: Bake Sales and Float Sales!

Above: Food Art!

In addition to their great fundraisers, the school also held a plastic bag school challenge. They had classrooms compete against each in who could bring in the most plastic bags to be recycled! In two weeks they collected 5520 bags!!!

Above: Filling the Display Case

Above: So many bags!

To everyone at O'Neill, well done! It sounds like the sensor lights should be installed by the end of the school year! It is a great example of a small project that can make a big difference!

Kathleen

Spring Clean Up at Thom Collegiate

2010-05-03T10:38:00.010-06:00

The students at Thom Collegiate celebrated Earth Day with a spring clean up! Students went out into their school yard and picked up garbage left behind in the spring thaw!

This cleanup is just a warm up for a larger community cleanup the Environmental Club is organizing for later in the Spring. Great job!

In addition to the clean-up, the students at Thom Collegiate are also organizing a community Eco-Fair at the end of May to be hosted at their school. Mark May 28th on your calendars and watch out for more information!

Kathleen

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T10:02:00.001-06:00

Campbell Collegiate to Win Award as part of Earth Day Celebrations!

2010-04-16T15:38:00.003-06:00

The Campbell Collegiate Environment Club will be presented with a Saskatchewan Environmental Activist Award at an awards ceremony on Friday, April 23rd! The awards are part of the 4th Annual Environmental Film Festival taking place at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. The students are being recognized for making their school and community more sustainable, including their efforts to raise money and install solar panels on the roof of their school! Other award winners include Catherine Verrall, Paule Hjertaas and Jim Harding! Congratulations to the Campbell Environment Club (past and present members!!) for all your hard work!

As previously mentioned, the Awards Ceremony is part of the 4th Annual Environmental Film Festival: See the Change, Be the Change that will be taking place on Friday and Saturday evening next week.

Here is the schedule:

Friday, April 23rd - 7 pm, Free Admission

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Cap and Trade

The Story of Bottled Water

Saturday, April 24th - 7 pm, Free Admission
Refugees of a Blue Planet
Taking Back Control of Our Food

This is just part of four exciting days of events happening at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum! Check out the poster below for more information! See you all out next week!

Kathleen

Steps Towards Sustainability... One Sundae at a Time

2010-04-05T14:02:00.030-06:00

In an effort to purchase new recycling bins to expand their recycling program, the students at Sheldon Williams Collegiate organized a Sundae sale!

Left: A happy customer Right: The club hard at work

They sold locally produced ice cream and used biodegradeable containers. They also had reusable dishes available for students by deposit. It was an evironmental take on a very sweet treat. This is just one of several sales the students will be doing throughout the spring has they approach their fundraising goals.

Left: Chocolate goodness Right: Showing off their reuseable bowls

Yum! I am personally looking forward to the next sale. :)

Check out this wiki on how to make your own ice cream at home: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Ice-Cream

Hope you all get to enjoy a frozen treat this Spring!

Kathleen

Earth Hour Celebrations!

2010-03-29T15:43:00.017-06:00

Earth Hour took place on March, 27th with people from across Saskatchewan participating in a variety of off the grid activities. In awareness of this event, the Greenall All-Greens organized an event to recognize Earth Hour in their school. The afternoon of Friday, March 26th started with the creation of a new vermicomposting bin and a lunch hour showcase of the worms. The club then convinced the entire school to turn off the lights for an hour in recognition of Earth Hour! CBC News came out to document the event! Congratulations to the girls for a wonderful event! You should be very proud!

Left and Right: The girls showing off their vermicomposting

Left: Getting Interviewed by CBC TV Right: A math lesson in the dark

Earth Hour was a huge success right across Saskatchewan. SaskPower reported a reduction in power use from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm on Saturday evening. Check out the news article here: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/03/29/sk-earth-hour-decrease.html

Check out the Official Earth Day Video for coverage from around the world:

Also check out this article! It shows monuments around the world that turned off the lights to observe Earth Hour: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/03/earth_hour_2010.html

Finally, remember to make energy conservation apart of your daily life. Check out the David Suzuki Foundation to find out easy things you can do in your everyday life to reduce your environmental impact! http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/

Bye for now!

Kathleen

Turning Out the Lights at Winston Knoll Collegiate

2010-03-25T15:10:00.024-06:00

Happy Spring!

In conjunction with this weekend's Earth Hour, students at Winston Knoll Collegiate (a new member to the Regina YES Network!) have launched a 'Flick Off the Lights' campaign in their school. At a staff meeting last week, students made a presentation about the campaign and the importance of turning off the lights when they are not in use. On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, students from the Environmental Club walked around the school and placed reminders over every light switch. They have also asked teachers to turn off the lights during a selected class this week!

About Earth Hour:

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

This year Earth Hour 2010 will take place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet. L
Let’s make 2010 the biggest Earth Hour yet!.

For more information, please see the Earth Hour website at: http://www.earthhour.org/

Kathleen

Greenall Takes on the Plastic Bag Challenge

2010-03-15T15:29:00.037-06:00

Following a very successful month long plastic bag awareness challenge at Thom Collegiate last fall, the Greenall All-Greens decided they wanted to try and do something in their own community. For the week of February 8th, the students launched a plastic bag classroom challenge to collect plastic bags to raise awareness around the amount of plastic we use. Over 2700 bags were collected in just one week!! All of the collected bags were then recycled. Awesome job, girls!!

Here are a few facts about plastic bags you should know:

1. Canadians use 9-15 billion plastic shopping bags every year.
Is that number too big to think about? Then picture this: if we tied 9 billion bags together they would circle the earth 55 times.

2. Plastic bags are made from non-renewable resources.
Just 8.7 plastic shopping bags contain enough embodied petroleum energy to drive a car 1 km.

3. Five minutes versus 1000 years.
The average plastic bag is used for five minutes to carry your purchases home, yet these single use plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to break down.

4. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade.
Photodegradation is a chemical reaction between plastic and sunlight. It means that the plastic bags break down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. Yuck!

5. Every piece of plastic ever made still exists.
There are approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in each square mile of the world’s oceans. In some places there's more plastic than plankton. Plastic bags are in the top 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups.

6. Reusable bags are the solution.
A sturdy, reusable bag will last for years, and only needs to be used 5 times to have a lower environmental impact.

Take the challenge! Use reusables!

Severn Cullis-Suzuki Speaking Event in Regina

2010-03-02T10:15:00.003-06:00

Severn Cullis-Suzuki will be speaking at a FREE event this Friday in Regina!

Who: Severn Cullis Suzuki
When: Friday, March 5th
Time: 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Where: Salon A, Queensbury Centre, Evraz Place in Regina
Cost: Free!

To download your free ticket to the event, please visit http://inspiringaction-jumpin2010.eventbrite.com/.

For more information, please visit the ESD Saskatchewan website at http://saskesd.ca/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=63&extmode=view&extid=9.

Or download the poster here: http://saskesd.ca/images/stories/march%205%202010%20severn%20cullis%20suzuki%20poster.pdf

See you Friday!

Kathleen

Campbell Collegiate Legacy Project - A Look Back

2010-02-05T10:28:00.009-06:00

During the 2008-2009 school year the Campbell Collegiate Environmental Club raised money to install solar panels on the roof of their school. The following article is from the Saskatchewan Environmental Society Newsletter. I'd like to thank them for allowing me to put it up here! All photos courtesy of Calvin Fehr Photography (http://calvinfehrphoto.com/).

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Campbell Collegiate Environmental Club

by Phil Boychuk, SES

Most people feel more energy on a sunny day, but for the students of Campbell Collegiate in Regina a sunny day brings a different kind of energy in the form of hot water produced by their solar-thermal panels. Thanks to the Campbell Collegiate Environment Club, students can wash their hands or shower after gym class knowing that the hot water they are using produces fewer greenhouse gases than a conventional fossil fuel system. After an ambitious campaign to raise money for solar-thermal panels was launched in 2008, the Club’s efforts came to fruition when the panels were installed on the school’s roof in July 2009 by Kelln Solar, a local solar company.

The Campbell Environment Club has created an enviable record of achievement since a student first approached teacher Deborah Neiblas six years ago with the idea of starting an environmental club. This year’s goal is to renovate a dilapidated, off-limits campus courtyard that is strewn with concrete (and the odd dead pigeon). They want to create a gathering place for students surrounded by native prairie plants.

The enthusiasm of the students in their solar energy campaign was so inspiring to the executives of Co-operators Life Insurance Company in Regina that they made a generous contribution which meant the panels were installed earlier than projected. Sustainability is part of The Co-operators’ corporate mandate, and the company was looking for ways to be a catalyst for environmental change. The idea of assisting high school students with sustainability projects was so tantalizing that they hired a full-time coordinator to work with all of the environmental clubs in Regina’s high schools. In September 2009, Kathleen Wilson was hired as the first Sustainability Youth Coordinator. Ms. Wilson currently works with five different high school environment clubs. She provides them with professional guidance on how to plan, coordinate and implement environmental projects. She is a permanent resource person for the clubs.

The Campbell Environment Club started with 5 students and now averages about 15 to 20 members. It aims to raise consciousness about the environment among the student population. The club has goes on field trips and attends environmental events. Amanda, the club’s current president, noted that being in the club has expanded her understanding of environmental issues: “I always thought that it was important to ‘recycle,’ but now I realize that the first step is to ‘refuse’ altogether if I can.”

In addition to the solar panels, the club’s 2007 and 2008 Eco-Fairs were exceptionally successful. Local environmental groups were invited to showcase their activities. They included displays on pesticide reduction, recycling, outdoor education, and wildlife and habitat preservation among others. Even political parties were invited to highlight their environmental policies. Also, speakers gave talks on environment issues.

A prominent feature of the Eco-Fairs are the science projects on the environment. Two elementary schools participated along with the Grade 10 science students. Prizes were awarded to the best student projects. Club members sell popcorn, t-shirts and cloth bags to raise money. Exhibits have included a smart car, a hybrid car and a solar oven. A burrowing owl was very poplar last year.

The Eco-Fair concept is now expanding. A number of high school environment clubs are presently working with Wilson to create an “Eco-Village.” The event is tentatively planned for Thom Collegiate in the spring. She is also advising individual clubs on their sustainability projects including vermicomposting and low-energy sensor lighting.

The genesis of the solar panel project occurred in 2008 when the Regina Public Schools sent 10 students from each high school to a week-long conference on energy production. The students felt that renewable energy merited more investigation. After the conference some of them joined the Environment Club, as did Mr. Ian Mitchell, a Campbell teacher. The club concluded that putting up solar-thermal panels was feasible. The students were adept fundraisers. A dinner and silent auction fundraiser at the Abbey Restaurant was a highlight. In an impressively short period the club had raised $25,000. Mr. Mitchell is still “in awe at how quickly it came together.”

The partnership between the high schools and The Co-operators has been remarkably beneficial. It is generating exciting sustainability projects, and the students are deepening their understanding of the environment. Wilson embraced her new role and immediately organized a one-day youth environment forum in November at the University of Regina. Students from Regina and local high school environmental clubs participated in workshops about sustainability, project management, and leadership development. The students also met environmental leaders from the community.

Wilson is helping the students master the fundamentals of creating sustainability projects. The students are learning about such things as advertising, networking, fundraising, project design, and connecting to business, government and community. She will be hosting mid- and end-year meetings to help club members review their progress and build momentum for new projects.

Regina high schools are producing the next generation of environmental leaders.

To make a donation or learn more about the Campbell Collegiate Environment Club you can email them at:
Email: Campbell_environ_club@hotmail.com

Celebrate the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity by Participating in the Nature Matters! Contest

2010-02-03T11:46:00.007-06:00

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB), to help raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity all over the world. Part of Environment Canada’s celebration of IYB is the national Nature Matters! Contest.

From January 28 to February 28, 2010, we are inviting Canadians between the ages of 9 and 35 to submit written or video essays that answer the following question:

"Why is nature important to you?"

AWARDS:

One grand-prize winner and two runners-up will be selected from each age group (9–13,

14–19, and 20–35 years) in each of the two categories—video and written:

The six (6) grand-prize winners will be invited to Ottawa to attend the Grand ReopeningEvent of the Canadian Museum of Nature, on International Biodiversity Day, May 22, 2010, where their achievement will be announced.
All grand-prize winning written and video essays will be displayed for Canadian and international visitors at the Biosphère in Montreal during 2010.
Grand-prize winning and runner-up essays will be published on the website of theCanadian Biodiversity Information Network, a shared public resource of our federal, provincial, and territorial governments.
Also, grand-prize winning and runner-up essays will be announced through Environment Canada's network of national education and environment organizations, reaching well over one million people.

For full contest details, please visit: http://www.cbin.ec.gc.ca/nature/concours-contest.cfm?lang=eng

FREE Screening of 'No Impact Man'

2010-01-26T14:16:00.001-06:00

The Physics Students Society at the University of Regina is hosting a free screening of the documentary No Impact Man. It is all taking place tonight at 7:30 pm in Ed 191 in the Education Building at the University of Regina.

About the Film:Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fITT6rVPds

No Impact Man, an Oscilloscope film, tells the story of Colin Beavan’s decision to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for a full year. It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, buses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage. No problem – at least for Colin – but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own.

The national screenings are facilitated by the No Impact Project, an organization founded by Colin Beavan following his no impact year, and the Center For a New American Dream, an organization that helps North Americans consume more responsibly.

Refreshments will be served after. Please bring your own reuseable cup.

Kathleen

O'Neill Sets an Example at - 20oC!

2010-01-25T17:56:00.008-06:00

The students at O'Neill High School are frustrated with people putting garbage into their recycling bins. To set an example for other students, the O'Neill Green Squad spent a very frigid December lunch hour sorting through the recycling on the front steps of the school. Sporting mittens, toques and their finest winter wear, they dumped out the collected recycling and removed all of the garbage. An entire garbage bag of waste was removed! A video was also made and aired at a school assembly before Christmas to remind students of proper etiquette for recycling!

Way to set an awesome example for your school community!!

And to everyone else, remember to respect your recycle bins and put only recyclables into them! While you are at it, remove the lids and give them a rinse too!

Again, great job to the O'Neill Green Squad for facing the conditions of Saskatchewan winter to educate their fellow students and be leaders in their community!!

Kathleen

Creating a Vision at Campbell Collegiate

2010-01-14T17:55:00.043-06:00

Happy Thursday!

Today was a great day at Campbell Collegiate. The students of the Campbell Environmental Club set out to create a vision for their project. Led by Natalie Walliser, a Landscape Architect with the City of Regina, the students went through several exercises to help define their vision. This is the first step in creating their project plan.

Breakout Groups Brainstorm Their Ideas for the Courtyard

Campbell's project - Extreme Makeover: Courtyard Edition - will involve the students fixing up an old courtyard in the school. The courtyard is currently filled with debris and is not used by students. The students aim to not only beautify the space and make it useable, but they want to make sure it has educational value and will be a model for environmental sustainability for students.

Sharing Ideas with the Larger Group

To all you Campbell students, you should be very proud of yourselves! The discussions were awesome and you produced some really wonderful ideas! I'm really looking forward to next week's discussion and what you all come up with!! Also a big thanks to Natalie Walliser for facilitating the session and to Ron Christie, the General Manager for Educational Facilities with the Regina Public School Board, for his participation and contribution!

Community Partners Brainstorm Session!

As I mentioned, the discussions were great! The students discussed using native prairie species to landscape the area. They discussed how they can include the materials already in the space to create pathways and other features. The discussions covered everything - possible water features, teepees, birdfeeders and bunnies. What ideas do you have for the Campbell students?

Thanks again for a wonderful day! There will be more updates as the plans unfold.

Bye for now,

Kathleen

Bring On the Worms! Greenall Starts a Composting Program!

2010-01-06T15:06:00.000-06:00

The Greenall All Greens officially launched a vermicomposting program in their school before Christmas! The vermicomposting bin was assembled by the club. The girls then made posters to create awareness about the bin and how to use it!

Preparing the Bin!!

The club will be starting with one bin and hopefully expanding it as their worms multiply.

Proudly Showing Off the Worms (Left) & Their New Home (Right)

Awesome job, girls!!

For those that might be interested, here is a bit of information on vermicomposting:
http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/h-164.pdf

If you are interested, here is a list of places to get worms in Saskatchewan:
http://www.saskwastereduction.ca/resources/Composting/vermicomposting.html

Happy composting,

Kathleen

School Projects Unveiled!

2010-01-06T14:47:00.000-06:00

At the YES Network Youth Leadership Forum on November 18th in Regina each participating school unveiled a project they will be pursuing this year. Here is an overview of the school projects:

Campbell Collegiate – Extreme School Makeover: Courtyard Edition
The students at Campbell Collegiate have decided they want to revitalize a courtyard in their school. Currently the courtyard is not useable by students. They plan to remove debris and clean up the area. They then want to landscape the area and make it a student friendly space. The plan calls for native prairie species to be used. The students also plan to launch a composting program that will be a focal point of the garden. There was also talk of grey water recycling from a nearby home ec lab.

Greenall High School – School Awareness
The Greenall All Greens have decided they would like to pursue a series of awareness projects in their school this year. Since the November 18th forum, the club has started a vermicomposting project! They are currently getting awareness out and teaching students how to use the bins! Their next school project will include a plastic bag recycling event in their school in the New Year.

O’Neill High School – ‘Turn Out Lights’
The Green Squad at O’Neill High School is frustrated with the amount of time the lights are left on in their school and they’ve decided to tackle it! In a very energetic rap at the youth forum the students at O’Neill announced that they will be raising money to install sensor lights into all of the school’s bathrooms. Awesome!

Sheldon Williams – Community Recycling Day
The Sheldon Williams Environmental Club announced that they would like to organize a community recycling day in the City of Regina. The plan is to hold it in May at a community lot in the city. The students are currently doing research on recycling in Saskatchewan.

Thom Collegiate – School Wide Recyling
The club at Thom Collegiate unveiled that they will be implementing a recycling program within their school. They will be launching it with a “Wear Your Garbage For A Day” campaign to get members of their school community thinking about the amount of trash they produce. The students are looking into a creative way to use the recyclables collected!

Joint School Project – YES Network
All of the schools have decided that they will host a one day eco-fair at the end of the school year. It will be hosted by Thom Collegiate with each of the schools contributing. The goal of the day is to showcase their projects and teach fellow students and teachers about sustainability!

There will be many more updates on the individual projects in the coming months! Stay tuned!!

Kathleen

YES Network Youth Leadership Forum

2010-01-05T16:40:00.002-06:00

The YES Network officially kicked off on November 18th, 2009 with a one day Youth Leadership Forum at the University of Regina. Forty-five students and teachers from five participating Regina and area high schools came out for a day of skills training, project planning and community networking.

The day started with keynote speaker Curtis Dorosh who gave an enthusiastic presentation on sustainability and what it means. The presentation gave way to a very high energy discussion on issues and actions. After the keynote speaker, participants were sent off to take part in two of seven skills sessions. The skill sessions included communication skills, how to deal with media, how to deal with government, research skills, how to apply for grant funding, fundraising ideas and creative activism. The morning concluded with school club break out groups where students and teachers got to apply their new skills and plan out a school project for this year.

The afternoon kicked of with the Cafe of Knowledge, a cross between and eco-fair and speed dating. Nine community organizations came out to share information with the students. The day concluded with each of the schools making presentations on their projects for this year. Some awesome project announcements were made! Honourable mentions go out to O’Neill High School for their ‘Turn Out the Lights’ rap!!

I’d like to shout out a huge thank you to all of the university student volunteers who gave up their whole day to volunteer, facilitate and lead the schools clubs. You all did an amazing job! Also a big thanks goes out to all of the skills session leaders and community organizers for coming out and leading the sessions! Everyone did such an awesome job!

Overall the day was great. The student clubs got to network and a lot was learned! It was a great kick off for what is going to be a great year!

Stay tuned for more from the YES Network!

Kathleen

Introducing the YES Network Blog

2010-01-05T15:44:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to the YES Network Blog! On this site you’ll be able to find out everything you need to know about the Regina YES Network. You can learn about the program, check out the progress of school projects, look at pictures and videos, find out about events around town and, most importantly, voice your opinion and feedback! There will be many updates to come, so definitely check back!

Yours truly,

Kathleen