Hundreds of students gather in Woodbridge for EcoSummit

barrie.ctvnews.com
April 5, 2016
By Brandon Rowe

Hundreds of young environmental ambassadors gathered for the first ever EcoSummit in Woodbridge on Tuesday, with a particular purpose in mind.

Students representing 19 of more than 1,700 certified eco-schools in Ontario discussed environmental learning and green initiatives.

"They’re really the ones that are the innovators and creators of environmental change at their schools and we wanted to bring this to the youth and make sure they get the same experience because they are really doing things that are really different and really inspiring,” says Elanor Waslander, executive director of Ontario Eco-schools.

Ontario's Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Glen Murray was the guest speaker at Tuesday’s event.

"The planet cannot absorb two, three degree Celsius temperature change over a few decades, so we got to get people armed to take early action, and the eco-schools programs is a critically important part of that initiative,” Murray says.

The day was filled with a variety of workshops, from spotting harmful micro-plastics to making art with nature.

"A single thing you're doing to impact the environment to change and make the world better is a step,” says grade 12 student Natalie Slade. “It might seem so small, but if everyone does something it's so large.”

Murray also announced another $344,000 for the program. That money will help pay for more learning resources and it'll also ensure that another EcoSummit can be held next year.