EMPOWER! Youth Retreat

By Brennan Caverhill

For The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

After watching car-loads of high school students wave goodbye to new friends with smiles on their faces, information in their minds, and inspiration in their hearts as they departed Kejimkujik National Park this past weekend, it was clear the first ever EMPOWER! Youth Retreat was a big success. “I’m already planning for next year,” said Mary Manning, principal at Shelburne Regional High School, who had a half-dozen students in attendance at the retreat.

The EMPOWER! Project is being designed and delivered by a team of students, researchers, and educators at the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) in Kempt, Nova Scotia. MTRI partnered with organizations like the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Association (SNBRA) and the Clean Annapolis River Project (CARP) to engage and empower young community leaders in southwest Nova Scotia.

In essence, the EMPOWER! Team hopes to provide youth opportunities to learn about and engage in the amazing volunteer, education, and job opportunities that are available to them right here in Nova Scotia, especially the southwest region.

To do so, organizers are developing a three-tiered approach: 1) facilitate a network of active youth and engaging opportunities; 2) research rural outmigration and profile inspiring individuals living in the biosphere; and 3) spearhead a conference at Kejimkujik National Park, at the heart of the biosphere reserve, where all involved can meet to learn and share their blossoming skill, knowledge, and passion.

This past weekend, just under 40 students from Middleton, Annapolis, Bear River, Digby, Barrington, Shelburne, Lockeport, Digby Neck, North Queens, and New Germany -- and even Halifax -- gathered at the heart of the biosphere reserve. Over half of the students had never been to Keji before, and some had never even heard of it. They have now.

From Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning, the students were well fed with local and organic whole foods prepared by volunteers. “This food tastes … REAL,” one student proclaimed, after dining on delicious gourmet popcorn, prepared over the stove with local herbs and worldly spices. If the students were looking for bags of chips and pogo sticks, they had come to the wrong place. Whole grain cereal from Speerville Mill with local maple syrup and LaHave bakery bread was served for breakfast. Quiche from Caledonia eggs and organic veggies was cooked up hot for lunch, and Valley corn on the cob and local chicken and veggie shish kabobs were devoured for supper.

BROAD RANGE OF TOPICS

The students were also well educated in between meals by passionate experts on topics ranging from species at risk to digital photography, toy making to Mi’kmaw heritage, and GPS and compass navigation to starting your own business.

Whispers of “this is SO cool …” and “I had no idea that …” and “I can’t wait to tell my friends about …” could be heard beneath the brilliantly coloured leaves of the Jim Charles Group Campsite, where the majority of the activities were held.

On Friday night, a VEJ fair (Volunteering, Education, and Jobs) barbeque took place at Merrymakedge, where universities like Acadia, Dal, St. Mary’s, and St. Anne were represented alongside the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation, and Bird Studies Canada, to name just a few of the organizations that offer opportunities to youth in the region.

GREEN ACTION PLANS

On Saturday morning, the students developed their own “green action plans” that they plan to take back to their schools and communities, to make them a better place. Some plan on doing school gardens, while others would like to implement better recycling programs, or carry out fundraisers to fix rusty pipes and eliminate the need for bottled water.

In the end, everyone learned a little something, made new friends, and became inspired to return to a beautiful park at the core of the biosphere, to which the EMPOWER! Team was more than happy to be able to introduce them. The retreat was clearly able to inspire in the high school students from throughout the biosphere a sense of wonder for nature, a profound appreciation for their environment, and a respect for one another that they will carry home to their families, schools, and communities ... and which they are likely to bring back to Keji throughout their lifetime.

YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES

There are dozens of amazing opportunities for youth to become engaged in environmental programs in southwest Nova Scotia. From 4H to Scouts, programs at C@P sites to National Parks, young naturalist clubs and library programs, not to mention school activities like the Canon Envirothon and the Canadian Geographic Geography Challenge. Unfortunately not all teachers, students, and communities are aware of or have access to these programs. Under the umbrella of the biosphere reserve, we hope to provide a clearing house for all programs that would engage and enlighten our young community and environmental leaders. We want to help them find training, volunteer, and work opportunities that will bolster not only their enthusiasm, but also their resume in their pursuit of becoming active members of vibrant communities.

For more information about the EMPOWER! Network, check out www.merseytobeatic.ca or call MTRI at (902) 682-2371.

BRENNAN CAVERHILL is a stewardship biologist with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute.