Environment and Conservation
May 25, 2015
The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Environment and Conservation:
Minister Applauds Work of Conservation Corps NL Toward Increasing Awareness About Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this Honourable House to acknowledge the important work of Conservation Corps Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Conservation Corps is a provincial, charitable organization dedicated to providing youth with training and employment in environmental and cultural heritage conservation. It was created in 1992 with the goal of increasing quality employment, training and career development opportunities for young people. Since its inception, Conservation Corps has employed more than 2,500 youth through its Green Team, Intern and other employment programs.
In 2002, Conservation Corps became the host organization for the Climate Change Education Centre, which has become a leader in the field of climate change education and outreach. Since its inception, the centre has been very successful in reaching various target audiences and increasing their capacity to understand and engage in actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
One of these key target audiences continues to be youth and to that end, the centre offers a ‘Who’s in Charge of Climate Change’ program in schools. Through funding support of $147,000 obtained from the Department of Environment and Conservation last year, the centre was able to reach over 11,000 individuals in 485 classes throughout the province.
In addition, the use of Climate Change Club storybooks in Kindergarden to Grade 6 continues to create a value-added educational package that schools find very useful. The program format includes all participating classes enjoying a reading of one of the stories, followed by a short PowerPoint presentation and class discussion.
Programming for junior high and high school classes is continually evolving; presentations are updated as severe weather events occur, new climate related data is released and significant discoveries are made. As the province continues to experience the effects of climate change, these direct links are added to presentation materials to ensure students can relate to the issues and understand the impacts on a local level.
Mr. Speaker, these are just a few examples of the way the Conservation Corps, through the Climate Change Education Centre, is spreading the message to our youth about climate change. And their outreach efforts extend to other areas as well. For example, the centre has delivered energy efficiency and climate change presentations to various programs of Stella Burry Community Services and the Association for New Canadians.
The Provincial Government is a proud supporter of this important organization, Mr. Speaker. In fact, in addition to the funding provided through my department, approximately $580,000 was provided last year through the Department of Advanced Education and Skills to support its many initiatives.
I ask all Honourable Members to join me now in applauding the Conservation Corps for their important work and wishing them all the best as they continue with their public education and outreach initiatives.
2015 05 25 2:00 p.m.