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For Immediate Release

Media Release: Chatham-area teens help nature as a result of Carolinian Canada’s Grow Wild! Boot Camp

Chatham - June 18^th, 2014 – Take an idea and run with it! That’s what 90 high school students are doing as a result of Carolinian Canada’s Grow Wild! Species at Risk Boot Camps. School might be out soon, but the habitat-friendly outreach projects they are developing are gaining momentum as a result of this special workshop series.

Earlier this spring, Carolinian Canada delivered a number of Grow Wild! Boot Camps to high school students in Chatham-Kent, Essex, Elgin and Niagara to teach them about the importance of local nature and empower students to help. Many of the species living in this area of southern Ontario known as the Carolinian Life Zone are in peril. Currently, more than 500 species are listed as rare, endangered or threatened.

Eighteen students from environmentally focused classes attended a Boot Camp at Wallaceburg District High School. Students learned about the Carolinian Life Zone through live snake demonstrations, presentations and games. They then rose to the challenge of designing their own projects based on a local issue that sparked their interest.

Some students decided to create habitat for overwintering snakes on a local landowner’s property. Others devised plans to create pockets of pollinator habitat in their own backyards.

Local community volunteers from local organizations such as Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, Ontario NativeScape, and Ducks Unlimited Canada were on hand to assist the students in developing their ideas.

Environmental educator, Lauren Selby, notes students typically suggest people can “bike more” or “plant trees” as ways to help nature. But by the workshop’s conclusion, Selby receives more informed, impassioned answers to the same question. “Students tell me about the huge need for more environmental education, describe the importance of planting native plants and let me know that Ontario’s snakes are harmless and should not be hurt.” She says, “At the end of the day, the empowerment and connection to their local environment is incredible.”

It’s the cumulative results of local actions, such as those taken by students, that fuel Carolinian Canada’s Big Picture vision of connecting people to nature and creating an ecologically linked landscape. Carolinian Canada Coalition plans to continue to seek funding for next school year to reach new students as well re-visit and support existing campaigns.

Carolinian Canada is thankful for the support of TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and the Ontario Government for making these workshops possible.

About Carolinian Canada Coalition: Carolinian Canada Coalition brings together diverse groups and individuals to advance a collaborative conservation strategy for healthy ecosystems and thriving communities in the Carolinian Life Zone. Stretching from Toronto to Windsor, Canada’s Deep South is among North America’s most vibrant and fragile ecoregions.

For Media Contact & Inquiries:

Bronwen Buck, Outreach Coordinator, bbuck@carolinian.org, 519-341-3199

Lauren Selby, Environmental Educator, 519-994-4326