Unique leadership opportunity for Charlottetown teens
Canadian Wildlife Federation launches free program for adventuring, volunteering
You’re never too young to help conserve Canada’s wildlife, and now Charlottetown teens are about to have a unique opportunity to make a difference in their communities through free outdoor adventures and service projects. The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) is launching a national conservation-based youth leadership program in January, thanks to funding from the Government of Canada through their Canada Service Corps initiative. The WILD Outside program will bring young people aged 15-18 years old together for outdoor adventures and service projects to protect local wildlife or conserve their local environment — developing the next generation of conservation stewards. “Young people today are doing such cool things and they have so much to offer, so we want to provide them with adventures and service opportunities in their own communities,” says Mike Bingley, CWF’s director of education. CWF has been running a similar program for 18- to 30-year-olds for two years now called the Canadian Conservation Corps. It’s been very successful but Bingley says there was a real need for a program designed for younger Canadians. “Young people were always coming to us and saying ‘I’m not 18 yet, but how can I get involved and what can I do to help make a difference for wildlife in my community?’” says Bingley. “So we knew there would be an interest in something like this.” Anyone between 15 and 18 years old can apply to participate free of charge, whether they’re still in high school or not. Bingley says there’s funding to ensure the program is “as inclusive as possible” so no teens are left out. “If they don’t have a winter jacket or a pair of skates, we’ll help them out with that. If they’re a teen parent and they need someone to watch their child, we’ll help cover the costs,” says Bingley. “We want to give these teens the chance to try activities they’ve maybe never had an opportunity to try before.” Some of the outdoor adventures might include canoeing or kayaking, hiking, ice skating, snowshoeing, crosscountry skiing, rock climbing, cycling, fishing, outdoor cooking and nature walks to identify birds and plants. There’s no charge for any of the activities and any equipment will be provided. After each outdoor adventure, the teens will put their heads together to come up with service projects. Bingley says that might include cleaning up shorelines, removing invasive species, planting trees or building wildlife habitats, but he expects the teens will come up with something even more innovative. “Young people are incredibly creative and born innovators. Their brains are wired that way,” says Bingley. “They come up with project ideas that I could never think of.” He says previous groups have sold microplastic-free toothpaste to their fellow high school students, found innovative ways to encourage people not to pollute local waterways and organizing huge community games involving 3,000+ people. “There are so many challenges facing wildlife today that we need to engage young people so they can come up with those bold new ideas,” says Bingley. Over the course of a year, the students will participate in multiple outdoor adventures and service projects in order to complete 120 volunteer hours. Many high schools require students to put in a certain number of volunteer hours before graduating, and participation in WILD Outside will also count towards other youth achievement initiatives like the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. “Canadian Wildlife Federation’s new Wild Outside program means more young people will have access to meaningful opportunities to explore and experience Canada while making positive contributions to wildlife conservation,” says the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. “I encourage all young Canadians to get involved in a Canada Service Corps project, so they may have a chance to practice leadership, develop individual strengths, and gain essential life and work experiences.” Only four cities across Canada have been selected for WILD Outside’s initial launch in January: Halifax, Charlottetown, Toronto and Calgary. Irene MacAulay will be leading WILD Outside in Charlottetown, and she says she’s excited for the “huge impact” the program will have on P.E.I. When she was a teenager, she says most community programs were specific to a certain career path — like entrepreneurship or farming — so she loves that the WILD Outside program is designed for everyone. “There’s a lot of pressure on teens to figure out what they want to do when they graduate high school, and this program can relieve some of that stress,” says MacAulay. “It will let them try a bunch of different things, explore new areas and maybe help them narrow down the list of things they want to pursue.” Starting in April, the WILD Outside program plans to expand to Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Winnipeg, St. John’s, Simcoe County, Moncton, Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton. A year from now, Bingley hopes to have at least 1,000 young people engaged across Canada — working in every province and territory to help wildlife in their own communities. “We want to make sure these young people get the chance to have their voices heard and really contribute to their communities.”