News & Events / Blogs

Taryn M.
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Taryn M. is a 17-year old Grade 12 student attending Fredericton High School in New Brunswick.  Actively involved in her community, Taryn has been a member of the Junior Board of the Children’s International Summer Villages (CISV) Fredericton Chapter for several years, and organized Fredericton’s first student film festival.  Further, she is a youth representative on the provincial Citizenship Task Force, which is working to improve student citizen engagement through New Brunswick’s educational curriculum.  Within her school, she helped organize Student Vote, has played an active role on the student council executive and participates in Model UN.  Taryn is a lifeguard, member of her school’s varsity swim team, and a swimming instructor.  She was a recipient of the Youth Volunteer Award from the Province of New Brunswick for her service in the area of culture.  Last April, she was trained by Al Gore and The Climate Project Canada to be a presenter of ‘An Inconvenient Truth.’   As a presenter, she works to educate and mobilize youth in relation to the climate crisis.  Since youth will inherit the consequences of our leaders’ decisions, she believes that they should be actively involved in shaping solutions.

Caleb T.
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Caleb T. is a 17-year old student in grade 12 at Canterbury High School in Ottawa, ON. He is enrolled in the arts school's music program. Caleb is very active in his community through extensive volunteer work and various outreach programs. He has served as a director of the CHS Initiative for Leadership and Learning, and has been involved with many humanitarian organizations. He has also been a member of student government since the age of 12 and is very involved in promoting the arts and culture in his school and community. Caleb is an avid Nordic ski racer, soccer player and referee. He is very dedicated to the issues of climate change and the environment, having worked with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Parks Ontario throughout the year. He believes young people bring a unique way of looking at the environment and can help develop creative solutions to fight climate change. He hopes that this experience will help him do just that.

• 2008 Expedition

Katie S.
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From Stouffville District Secondary School, in Stouffville, Ontario, Katie S. is a grade 11 student who is passionate about educating and informing others about climate change issues. She has been involved in a number of environmental initiatives in her school and is currently enrolled in Leadership Enrichment and Development (LEAD), a school program aimed at cultivating strong leadership skills through opportunities to help the local community. In 2006, she was selected to attend the Youth Leadership Summit in Salt Lake City, where she learned how to put plans for change into action.

Caroline J .
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Caroline J. is a grade 11 student who attends The Study in Montreal, Quebec. This year, she was one of the top speakers at the Provincial debating tournament and was selected to participate in the North American Debating Championships. In 2007, Caroline received awards for Outstanding Personal Character and Intellectual Promise from the Yale Club of Montreal as well as the school’s Journalism Prize. She has won several awards for writing, math, and science (including the McGill Chemistry award), and is a competitor in this year’s Shalheveth Freier Physics Tournament. In addition to this, Caroline has completed over 300 hours of community service and participated in the Montreal Millennium Summit (2007) and the Youth Empowered Conference (2008). She has a red belt in Tae Kwon Do and is a marathon runner.

Meagan M.
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As the president of Abbey Park High School’s Environmental Council in Oakville, Ontario, Meagan M. is an active youth leader devoted to raising awareness on environmental issues. In grade 11, she is the founder of her school’s Eco Schools program which won the Silver Eco Schools Award. She has spearheaded several environmental initiatives including a “greening project” that plants over 250 trees in Oakville every fall and spring. Meagan is a Student Representative for the Halton District School Board’s Environmental Management Team. She was also a speaker at the Board’s Eco Schools Conference where she debated the use of cosmetic pesticides. Her participation allowed for a bylaw to be enacted several months later.

Azra S.
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Azra S. is a Grade 12 student attending the University of Toronto Schools. She is an active member of the school community as a Student Outreach Coordinator (SOC), as well as the founder and participant in various environmental and sustainability projects. Two years ago, Azra got involved with the UTS Envirothon training program, a program focused around promoting awareness and knowledge about the environment and sustainability. Starting out as a participant, she became a lead teacher in running the course after school. This year, she participated in the SHAD Valley Program themed ‘Zero Waste’. Her team placed first within the campus and went on to win two gold medals in the National competition. Azra was also chosen to speak at the Ontario Science Teachers’ Association (STAO) about Student Leadership in Environmental Education. To further this initiative, she co-founded a Toronto chapter of Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots, where she hopes to promote global sustainability while working with the student body. In March of 2007, Azra traveled to Ecuador, where she learned and worked with local villages on the economic, social and environmental issues affecting the Las Tunas region. As part of the Canadian Youth Delegation, Azra hopes she will be able to further this passion, while having a positive impact on other youth as well as society as a whole.

Katrina G.
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Katrina G. is a grade 12 honours student at Old Scona Academic High School in Edmonton, Alberta. She is actively involved in student life and has served on the school Student's Union (SU) for three years; she is currently SU president. Katrina is an avid member of the Debate and Speech Club and for the past two years has acted as a teaching assistant and mentor for new debaters. In February 2007, Katrina competed in the National Individual Speech and Debate Championships held in Winnipeg where she presented a speech on the impact of environmental pollutants and global warming on human health. She placed Silver overall nationally. She also writes occasional columns for the Edmonton Journal's Next Gen feature as well as for other ventures such as a school magazine and the youth magazine, Grip. Katrina is excited about what she will learn at the UN conference on climate change and hopes to use and share the knowledge gains from this experience to positively affect her school, community, and country

John C.
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John C. is a 17-year old bilingual student from Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, with a specific interest in the science of climate change. He hopes to learn from the experts that will be at the United Nations climate change conference in Bali and start a youth organization in Newfoundland to help fight against climate change. Earlier this year he represented his province at the National High School debating seminar. He is a chess enthusiast and plays rugby with the Under18 provincial team. He coaches children in rugby and chess.

Rebecca Zalatan
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Rebecca is the manager of the Climate Change Programme for the British Council in Canada. She completed her Ph.D. in Geography at the University of British Columbia. She has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Geography at Carleton University, studying the response of Arctic tree species to climate change.