Posted: February 14, 2023
Youth Water Leader invites participants in a River Aware Challenge
As the 2022-23 cohort of Youth Water Leaders comes to a close, we’re excited to share some of the incredible community action projects that participants have created this year, including several educational resources.
Rae has long been an advocate for water protection and an engaged member of their community. Currently a Masters’ student in Geography at Carleton University researching pollution in permafrost, Rae is also a previous participant in the Ocean Wise Ocean Bridge Program, and a volunteer with Girl Guides of Canada. We have been incredibly lucky to have Rae in our program this year!
For their community action project, Rae wanted to raise awareness of the issues facing rivers across Canada and inspire people to take action in protecting them. To do this, they decided to create The River Aware Challenge, a series of activities for kids and adults to learn about watershed science, reflect on Indigenous connections to water, and take action to protect the health of their local river. The challenges include a shoreline cleanup, an activity about road salt, and prompts to research the ongoing water crisis on Indigenous reserves.
The River Aware Challenge was launched in both English and French in October 2022 on Rae’s Create Change Collective website, an initiative they started to raise awareness of environmental issues. Participants in the challenge are eligible to receive a 2022 River Aware patch designed by Rae.
Check out Rae’s River Aware Challenge here or on the Create Change Collective website! Thanks to Youth Water Leader Mélanie, who translated and edited the French version of the River Aware Challenge.
This project was made possible through the Youth Ocean Action Grant by Ocean Wise. Ocean Wise is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower communities and individuals to take action to protect and restore our world’s oceans.
The Youth Water Leaders Program is funded by the Canada Service Corps, a national movement that empowers youth aged 15–30 to gain experience and build important skills while giving back to their community.
Learn more at Canada.ca/CanadaServiceCorps.
Wow, Congratulations Rae, what a fabulous idea. The Youth Water Leaders Program is a fun and rewarding initiative. Kudos to Ottawa River Keeper for offering this amazing opportunity to our youth.