By Michelle Roy
I started my internship with CCNB with the idea that children needed to be more involved in environmental issues. I mean, the consequences of global warming will end up punishing younger generations that weren’t the cause of the issue to begin with. I knew I wanted to somehow give youth a better understanding of the climate crisis surrounding us, so they could be given the chance to make a difference.
This lead me to an elementary school called École des Éclaireurs in Fredericton with a couple of Grade 4 students looking to make a difference in their community. I began by giving them the overwhelming facts on global warming, and taught them as much as a 4th grader can understand on greenhouse gas emissions. They learned about the negative things happening to their planet thanks to the waste humans produce, on top of many other reasons. They came to a conclusion that by producing less waste, they could help the planet in more ways than one.
The first step was to brainstorm as a group. From this, the students came to the conclusion that they wanted to encourage other children to create less waste by starting the habit of recycling. The best way of doing so? By creating a Lego movie on the importance of recycling and the steps of recycling properly, along with a recycling club, of course!
The second step was to get information on the subject. The group spent the next week interviewing specialists such as Brad Janes and Jennifer Young of the Fredericton Region Solid Waste Commission. These experts taught them what kind of items they could recycle and what happens to items once they are put in the recycling box and taken away. Shortly thereafter they got in contact with an organization who funded the project, and with that funding, they bought 30 blue recycling boxes — more than enough for every classroom in the school!
The third step was to make the short movie about recycling. With nothing but an iPad and a bunch of Lego pieces, they worked hard to put together a video that was fun and informative. The video contained a bunch of Lego characters who talked to the student body about the importance of creating less waste, and what items they could place in the blue and grey boxes.
The fourth step was finding people to join the new recycling club they’d formed. They made a school-wide announcement letting students know how to sign up, and before long, they had collected more than 20 names.
With the help of a passionate and incredible teacher named Miss Janie Vautour, they were able to accomplish the goals they had envisioned.
I had the opportunity to work on several projects and initiatives during my 4 months at CCNB, like helping with a survey on frederictonians environmental concerns, going to the market to help promote the new Buy Local app, spending hours reading and learning divers subjects or just the smaller things like helping send out some mail. But working with the Grade 4 students at École des Éclaireurs was by far the highlight for me.
Watching their eyes light up with interest and concern about a subject they once knew very little about — and then working hard to share the knowledge they had received with other students — was truly amazing and inspiring. This experience taught me that children have the power to make a difference, and all you have to do is offer them an opportunity and give them a chance.