On\nThursday, Nov. 7th 2019, organizations Surf the Greats and Water First came\ntogether with a panel of leading environmentalists to assert the importance of\ncommunity as a key tool for environmental stewardship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every\nleader spoke about community being an important asset to the work that they do.\n\u201cAt Water First, we know that we\u2019re really good at water science and\neducation, but it\u2019s actually useless unless we have First Nations engagement\nthat is substantive, meaningful and ongoing throughout the project,\u201d said\nExecutive director and founder of Water First John Millar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Director\nfor Climate Strike Canada Cecilia La Rose made a similar statement. \u201cWe see\ndiversity in the climate movement not only as effective but as absolutely\nnecessary. As we move forward, we must pass the mic to Indigenous people. In\nthat same spirit, we have to work with communities everywhere. Everyone is\nvital to this movement,\u201d La Rose said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Co\nfounder and vice president of Swim Drink Fish Krystyn Tully also spoke on the\nimportance of community. \u201cSocial change is not a linear process. We\u2019re only as\nstrong as our network. Our community allows us to be,\u201d Tully said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Millar,\nLa Rose and Tully all work to build and foster relationships with young people.\nSome different ways that this is done are; youth environmental projects,\nclimate strikes and water education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With\na mandate to support First Nations communities, Water First has done many\nprojects, training and collaborations with Indigenous youth. \u201cAt the end of the\nday, our goal is to support future generations to enter the field of water\nscience,\u201d Millar said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fridays\nfor the Future is a global network of young people who work together to\norganize strikes across the country. \u201cYoung people around the world are joining\nforces on such a scale that simply can\u2019t be ignored any longer. At our core, we\nare a group of small communities doing big things,\u201d La Rose said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a\nmovement of people who are connected to water and promote water literacy, Swim\nDrink Fish has the goal of making water swimmable, drinkable and fishable for\neveryone. \u201cWhen people don\u2019t understand nature, they don\u2019t want to protect it,\nwhich is harmful. Our goal is to make nature something everyone can connect\nto,\u201d Tully said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During\nthe event, attendees had the opportunity to raise any questions that they might\nhave through a panel discussion. The discussion was moderated by the water\nprograms manager, Kelsey Scarfone. Many audience members wanted to know some\nthings that they could do to help with the climate crisis as well as where and\nhow they could get involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nspeakers all gave the same point. The best way to help the climate crisis is to\nbegin by helping your community. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"