The Youth Engagement Program (YEP)
This website – the Youth Action Centre – is part of the Green Street's National Youth Engagement Program (YEP). The YEP was created to link youth who had participated in a Green Street program (see below, under ‘What’s Green Street?’) with other environmental learning and action opportunities.
The YEP is a busy program! We do tons of stuff - like run this website, send out monthly e-newsletters (want to subscribe? Click here) and support youth friendly events like summer camps, youth internships and youth conferences. We also have an awesome Youth Steering Committee.
Our Goal: "We are the youth representatives for Green Street. Collectively, we help to identify youth-friendly environmental and sustainability learning programs, opportunities and materials."
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The Youth Steering Committee (YSC) is a group of very cool, very inspiring youth who come from across Canada to help guide Green Street with their ideas and goals. Some have been Green Street interns, some have attended Green Street workshops, and others have heard about the program through youth networks and wanted to get involved.
The YSC is the youth VOICE of Green Street. It helps make decisions for Green Street, like: What kind of school programs should they support? What's missing? Who would be a good person to contact for workshops or ideas? What environmental issues are REALLY important to youth, and what do they want to do to help? The YSC has great ideas for new programs, resources and other stuff you need to help you be a serious force of change!
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It is your responsibility as good citizens to care about your environment. This is your home, so let's keep it clean and healthy for now and the future. Remember that every single person CAN and DOES make a difference, but whether you're making a positive or a negative difference is up to you!
Spreading the word
This is where you start teaching the people around you. Volunteering in an elementary school, creating or helping with community education programs, writing newspaper articles, plays, poems, posters, and advertisements, and even running workshops are some of the best ways to get your ideas out there.
Buying Well
You make choices, like refusing to buy items with more less or no packaging, buying Canadian made and locally grown products, buying organic, boycotting products produced by known operators of sweatshops, buying secondhand, and mostly asking yourself the question - DO I REALLY NEED THIS?
Persuade Others to…
It's like spreading the word, with a focus on the changes people can make. Write a letter to the editor, make an announcement over the P.A., try creating an ad campaign on an issue you feel strongly about, or hand out anti-idling pamphlets for cars in your school's parking lot.
Raise Money
Whether it's for your own project or to donate to another, most projects need money. It's important to think about WHERE you're raising money from - for a project about using less water, car washes send a pretty mixed message.
Political Action
If your issue involves some sort of change in society, there's a good chance you'll get involved in politics. This includes meeting with elected officials, speaking at public meetings and hearings, starting petitions (that you take to your politician), and writing letters either congratulating your local politician or letting them know how they could do a better job. Even if you aren't voting yet, you will be soon and your opinion is important.
Start Legislative Action
If your issue needs legal action, then get it out to the lawmakers. Making a presentation to city hall or town council in support of an anti-idling bylaw, or creating your own letter-writing campaign to initiate a change in provincial and federal pesticide laws are good ways to get your issue out into the public and the government.
Down and Dirty Projects
You can start up changes to your environment to increase their value for ALL living creatures. Schoolyard naturalization, tree planting, soil stabilization and creek clean-ups are all included in these kinds of projects. When you're planning you project, try focusing on ecological values like biodiversity, habitat and food, rather than just making an area prettier.
Make Lifestyle Choices
When you choose to buy differently, you can also choose to DO differently. Walking, riding a bike or taking public transportation, choosing low-impact entertainment, and generally living your life in ways which have less impact on the planet and are more sustainable in the long term.
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