In good hands

As politicians continue to bicker over how best to tackle—and reverse—the ever-worsening impact of global warming, it’s great to see young people are taking matters into their own hands to make our world a “greener” place.
Here at J.W. Walker School, a very active environmental club, consisting of more than 40 members in Grades 2-7, addressed town council at Monday night’s meeting to pitch the sale of rain barrels to local residents as one way to promote water conservation.
Given the restriction on non-essential outdoor water use that went into effect here today while work is done to repair the water tower, the students’ timely idea to store rain water for use on lawns and gardens not only would help solve a short-term inconvenience, but hopefully also teach people about the importance of conserving water in the long term.
Meanwhile, over at St. Francis School, the Grade 7/8 French Immersion class recently took the bull by the horns to push a recycling initiative—not willing to wait for a school-wide project to begin.
The main goal, of course, is to ensure less waste ends up in the local landfill (in fact, the students already have cut the amount of lunch garbage in half in a few short weeks). Equally important, though, is the message they’re sending to their parents and fellow students, and community at large, about how recycling is an easy way to help curb pollution.
These are but two examples that illustrate how our children have heeded—and embraced—the need to “go green,” while also showing that no idea or effort is too small in the fight against climate change.
Saving our environment is a daunting task to be sure, but it’s a challenge looking less and less formidable thanks to more and more young people taking it to heart.
Planet Earth looks to be in good hands, indeed.