Youth Leadership in Our Community

NOTE: Since last week’s report was published, we have learned that the brief reference to Bill 44 was incorrect in two ways: 

  1. There is no advocacy underway on Salt Spring Island related to the Provincial Government’s Bill 44 that received Royal Assent in November 2023. This bill introduced a number of changes to the Local Government Act, including new zoning provisions related to small-scale, multi-unit housing.
  2. The provisions of Bill 44 apply to the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee, with the exception of section 481.3 of the Local Government Act, which concerns zoning bylaws and small-scale, multi-family housing.

We appreciate your patience in helping us to get right!  

Don’t forget to join us this Friday, August 28, 11-1, SIMS classroom to welcome Habitat for Humanity’s Carmen. 

Twelve joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome Melody Silva and Andria Scanlan to discuss youth leadership in our community. Andria offered a moving Acknowledgement, reminding us that in First Nations circles, the youth are in the centre with elders encircling them. 

After we all had a chance to introduce ourselves, Melody, a recent high school graduate heading to University of Victoria this fall, shared that she was “excited and delighted” during those early morning hours in nature before she begins her job as camp counselor at Lost Field Farm. As our youngest ASK Salt Spring participant at this gathering, she smiled when she told us that, in her role as camp counselor, she was the oldest at work, the adult in the group. 

Melody has been a Transition Salt Spring (TSS): https://transitionsaltspring.com/ volunteer and part-time worker for almost 4 years, and was recently awarded a National Youth Climate Activism Award. Initially intrigued during a Real 9 interview, Andria gave at Gulf Island Secondary School (GISS), Melody was excited by the variety of initiatives TSS offers to promote climate resilience including advocacy, community events, and education. Melody also praised the hands-on experience in forest and biodiversity management that she got through her science class’s collaboration with the Climate Adaptation Research Lab Society – CARLS (https://www.carlsociety.org/), recently a TSS program, now a stand-alone organization. She also noted her joy being involved in TSS’s popular circular economy events like the Repair Cafe and Toy Swaps. 

Andria, community engagement lead for TSS’s Lighter Living initiative, including Repair Cafes, many clothing and toy swaps, webinars, and skillshare activities throughout the year, is endlessly “excited and delighted” by working with youth. This enthusiasm shone brightly during our two hours together. With a background in Healthy Communities and education (https://bchealthycommunities.ca/), Andria loves working alongside youth, endlessly intrigued by their energy, resilience, and totally out-of-the-box perspective on addressing issues. She reminded us that there is a big difference between programmingfor young people and programming with young people. And, there is an even biggerdifference between inviting young people to participate and giving them the opportunity to lead.

The first question to our guests was “How can we engage more youth in our community through politics and nonprofits?” While the answers were varied, some of the suggestions included:

1) Politics: 

  • Local Community Commission (LCC) initiatives (especially PARC Programs) have significant impacts on our youth. While community engagement for these initiatives is good, it was suggested that youth seldom play a role in these outreach activities. One participant noted that she routinely completes PARC surveys (like the recent one about the Portlock Park Masterplan), surveys that she suspected had not even been offered to our youth. 
  • Shouldn’t Local Commissioners, Electoral Director, and Islands Trustees spend time in our schools? What better way for students to learn about governance than by a dialogue with our local elected leaders? 
  • The now-dissolved PARC Commission had a youth commissioner some years ago. As one need only be 18 to run, what about encouraging a youth to become a local Community Commission candidate?
  • Listening is not enough. If we want to engage youth in politics, they must also know that their input is valued and makes a difference in the outcome. 
  • What about local leaders offering to enhance the 11th and 12th grade course, Career Life Connections, with real governance experiences along the lines of mini-internships? 

2) Nonprofits: 

  • Several keys to engaging youth were discussed. First, is to offer them an experience that has clear descriptions of the time of commitment, skills required, and what they will “gain from the experience.” Examples of incentives can include references, mentorship, skill learning, resume building, cash or some form of honoraria, and agency – the opportunity for them to create the change they want to see.
  • To engage our youth, you must learn and understand what interests and inspires them. Remember, most have jobs, a full academic load, and transportation challenges. They are more likely to allocate their precious extra time if the opportunity intrigues and delights them. 
  • Some felt that a Volunteer Fair in our school might be effective in creating one-on-one connections between youth and nonprofits that could develop into mentorship opportunities and life-enhancing experiences while also helping nonprofits.
  • It was suggested that nonprofits can connect with our schools to offer valuable experience to students. We learned from Melody and Andria that receiving an invitation into our schools comes through teachers, administrators, and students. Interested? Melody (melodysilva3164@gmail.com) offers to guide you to connect with teachers and administration to discover the best way to share your nonprofit’s activities with students.
  • Andria told us that, once that connection is made, and you have offered something valuable to students, you will remain on the list, and school staff will reach out repeatedly. 

An effective strategy to engage youth includes trust and reciprocation. They need to feel that not only do you want something from them, but that you are also eager to give, whether that gift is a great resume-enhancing experience and opportunity to make a difference, or – often very important – some money. Melody told us that, with $100 honorarium, students worked endlessly for a project about which they care. Even a “thank-you” of $20 means a lot. When Melody was asked if food was as effective, she replied that, while food was nice, it is the money, even a modest stipend, that makes a big difference. 

In addition to the financial incentive, word of mouth is extremely valuable. Melody told us that she posts hundreds of posters throughout the school that, it appears, no one reads. It is only when she talks to classmates, telling them about this great upcoming opportunity, that interest grows. 

A participant asked if Salt Spring was a healthy and vibrant community for all, including youth. That initiated a conversation about what our youth might be lacking. Many agreed that Salt Spring has nowhere that is lit, warm, either free or inexpensive, and welcoming to youth in the evenings. They literally have no where to go. Would a Youth Hub or Teen Town meet that need? While there was agreement that youth deserve the expenditure needed to support this gathering space, we also know the answer is more complex than simply funding. It also requires the right “vibe,” a space that attracts and entertains youth without being too institutionalized, boring, or simply misses the mark. It could offer learning opportunities, recreation, and leisure activities, or simply be a safe, warm place to gather. 

Of course. . . we do not know the answers until we ask our youth! Won’t this fall be the perfect opportunity for our newly elected Local Commissioners and Electoral Director to initiate that conversation with our youth to get their answers? 

During the remainder of our time together, we learned about the recent focus of the high school’s Earth Club. Over the years, School District 64 students have voiced their frustration about the lack of recycling and composting options at the school. Despite a number of proposals forwarded by the Student Council, the problem has remained unresolved. Melody and the Earth Club decided it was clear that further action was necessary. Intent upon making real change, Earth Club students reached out to Andria for help. With support from the Jacqueline Booth Memorial Fund, held by the Salt Island Foundation (for Youth), students put together a plan that included:

  • Advocacy training;
  • Student and staff interviews; 
  • Student awareness building; 
  • Two waste audits; 
  • Discussions with school and operations staff, as well as waste management professionals and business representatives from on and off island, 
  • A month-long pilot recycling program and 
  • Plenty of research on to understand where the waste currently goes and what other options exist on Salt Spring. 

They learned that all waste generated at the high school (with the exception of the cafeteria) ,including recyclables and compost, is sent to Washington State, where landfill laws differ than those in Canada, at a cost of 41 cents per kilogram. Melody and her fellow climate activists were astonished. There must be a better way! 

The initial waste audit was shocking for many. It revealed that only 1% of the waste is actually garbage! 75% of it was compost, and slightly less than a quarter was recyclables. To address one stream of the waste cycle, a month-long recycling pilot project was initiated. Recycling bins – 69 of them – were acquired by the students (through grants and donations) and pairs were placed throughout the school, one for soft plastic and the other for hard plastics. Emterra (https://www.emterra.ca/), a Canadian waste management company with a branch in Victoria, was hired to take the recyclables. Emterra was chosen because they visit Salt Spring weekly and have an open, transparent recycling stream. 

The next questions was: “Will students actually use these bins?” You bet! Brimming each week, the Earth students did the sorting each Thursday. The job took about 35 minutes each week and wasn’t too bad except for that one chicken carcass that made it’s way into a recycling bin. That was stinky business!  

Earth Club students reached out to CRD and LCC members to understand their role in waste management. Commissioner Corno attended an Earth Club meeting and laid out responsibilities, potential actions, and outcomes as well as an invitation to present their project and findings to the LCC with the aim of seeking solutions together.  

Recognizing that recycling was only a small part of the waste cycle, students also reached out to the Salt Spring Abattoir Society and CRD Environmental Services. They were delighted to hear that Electoral Director Gary Holman had just offered a motion to exempt our Burgoyne Valley Ecodrum from a current region-wide law that prevents it from accepting offsite waste. 

This composter is a state-of-the art black tube about 10 metres long and two metres high that turns organic waste into a steaming-hot, rich soil-booster: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/salt-spring-island-commercial-composter-1.7612076). The proposed exemption will allow it to accept waste from local organizations, including our schools, once a community engagement process is complete. If you would like to see the local Eco Drum composter begin to accept organic waste from our schools and other users, voice your opinion here: https://getinvolved.crd.bc.ca/ssi-composting). Don’t postpone! You only have until September 13 to offer this important feedback. 

Andria and Melody were excited about this composting progress, giving a shout-out to Gary for spearheading this necessary exemption from the CRD Solid Waste Plan. Once this exemption is approved, students envision an island where all organic waste from multi-unit housing communities, businesses, and restaurants could be transferred to our Ecodrum, producing rich local compost for sale. (Did you know that food waste that ends up in a landfill creates methane which is more than 80 % more potent than CO2 and is the largest local source of greenhouse emissions?) You may want to re-read this report: Learning All About Our Farmland Trust from Andrea and Jenn.

Through this youth leadership initiative, students have created significant momentum and ignited conversations on island and even across the province. Coastal Waste Management Association set up a series of roundtable webinar discussions on Sustainable Waste Management in BC schools with over 100 folks attending from across Canada and Salt Spring’s youth leading the charge! The students also hosted the first ever Climate Cafe meeting with Salt Spring Seniors for Climate to discuss collaboration on climate change activities in the community.  

Needless to say with the great success of the pilot recycling project, the follow-up waste audit confirmed the value of recycling in our schools. Armed with this data, as well as up close and personal experience with recycling, budget estimates, and grant opportunities, the Earth Club presented their findings to School District 64 Trustees, requesting the ongoing and institutionalized implementation of a full recycling and composting program. 

As a result of this presentation, students learned another hard leadership lesson: Sometimes the solutions that seem so clear to those proposing them hit unexpected roadblocks. Surprised that School Trustees did not immediately say “Of course!,” students are determined to continue to work with the Trustees. They hope that the School Trustees will work with them to help identify the obstacles, addressing them collaboratively. Listening as well as speaking, students are confident that, together, a better waste management system will be established in our schools. They understand that what they have so far accomplished is only a part of the leadership required to shepherd projects to completion. 

Both Andria and Melody agree that waste is not what matters most.The biggest outcome was their learning about how to create change. These aren’t just climate change skills, they are life skills. At the end of the school year, a number of students involved in the program described that they felt empowered to make a difference. One Grade 9 student stated:  “This project taught us how to reach out to the community and actually create change.” While not yet complete, this waste management initiative taught our youth that they can make a difference, that their voice matters. 

Our time together over, we expressed deep appreciation to Andria for her passion and deep love of working alongside youth and Melody, an amazing young lady and clearly one of our not-so-future leaders. (Thank-you, Melody and Andria!)   

Just in case you are interested. . . .This report has been written by Gayle Baker, founder of ASK Salt Spring, currently also a Salt Spring Local Community Commissioner. It has been reviewed by Andria.