The
Sustainability
Project.

The third annual Youth Climate Action Conference is set for Thursday, November 7, 2024 at the Harmony Centre in Owen Sound. The Sustainability Project and Learning for a Sustainable Future with support from Grey County, Bluewater District School Board, Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board and local climate action team volunteers will be welcoming over 125 grades 6 - 8 students and 30 educators from 25 schools across the region!

The day will begin with a keynote address from students from Arran-Tara Elementary School who completed a Trees for Tara tree planting project after last year’s conference. Over the course of the day, students will participate in hands-on workshops facilitated by a range of organizations, including the Lake Huron Coastal Centre, Bagida’waad Alliance, Green Learning, Nuclear Innovation Institute, and The Sustainability Project, and begin planning their school and community action projects, which they will share at the end of the day. Teachers will participate in a full day of professional development facilitated by Learning for a Sustainable Future on how to connect climate to their curriculum.

What: Youth Climate Action Conference

Where: Harmony Centre, 890 4th Ave E, Owen Sound, ON

When: Thursday, November 7, 2024, 9:00 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Who: 125 grade 6 – 8 students and 30 educators from 25 schools will be hosted by The Sustainability Project, Learning for a Sustainable Future, Grey County, Bluewater District School Board and Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board

Why: To bring together students and educators, and community organizations to learn, connect and collaborate on climate action projects over the school year and beyond. YCAC aims to challenge and support youth to advance climate action.

Background

In March 2023, the inaugural conference brought together 50 students from Owen Sound schools at the Harmony Centre in Owen Sound. It was initiated by Bluewater educator Hilary Coburn and featured more than half a dozen speakers in the morning, then students worked with local volunteer facilitators to develop their own action plans in the afternoon.

Recognizing that a conference earlier in the school year would allow students more time to implement their action projects, The Sustainability Project and in partnership with Grey County and other community organizations, hosted 60 students from 10 schools across the region at Sydenham Campus in November 2023. For more information, see the highlight reel on Grey County's Youtube Page or the media release on the County’s website.

This year, for the third conference, The Sustainability Project and Grey County are partnering with Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF), national charity that has been working for over 30 years to integrate sustainability education into Canada’s school system, to deliver the conference. LSF brings a wealth of expertise and federal funding, which has supported release time for educators to participate, action project funding and event coordination. Participating schools will also receive access to a library of virtual workshops to keep learning with their whole class and $500 in action project funding.

The Sustainability Project has raised over $8,000 in sponsorships from local community organizations, climate action teams, municipalities, and individuals to support the conference and youth action projects. Thank you to Community Foundation Grey Bruce, Georgian College, Owen Sound Field Naturalists, Saugeen Nature, Stewardship Grey-Bruce, Wiarton Rotary Club, Township of Georgian Bluffs, Municipality of Grey Highlands, Municipality of Arran-Elderslie, as well as individual donations through the Small Change Fund.

For more information on the conference, visit the Sustainability Project’s website at ycac.info or contact:

Megan Myles, Grey County Climate Change Outreach and Engagement Coordinator at Megan.Myles@grey.ca or 519-370-7060

or Jo-Anne Harbinson, The Sustainability Project Co-Chair at scaleupprojects@gmail.com or 519-270-6548.