Climate leadership camp at Peterborough’s Ecology Park empowers youth to take action

Peterborough GreenUP’s Climate Leadership Camp for Girls, Two-Spirit and Gender Diverse Youth is a week-long camp at Ecology Park in July and August tailored for ages 11-13. The camp offers gender-matched youth the opportunity to build skills and confidence needed to become climate leaders, with a focus on green building, food security, cycling literacy, climate adaptation and water conservation. (Photo: Genevieve Ramage)

The youth of our region have proven that they can have a real and lasting impact on the environment and climate.

Teens are conscious consumers, discerning media consumers, and they can get to work to make their schoolyards more climate-resilient while taking responsibility at school and at home. How can we continue to support and encourage these inspiring climate leaders?

With many families planning summer camps right now, GreenUP is excited to shout, “There are camps that can!”

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GreenUP’s Climate Leadership Camp for Girls, Two-Spirit and Gender Diverse Youth, preparing for a fourth season, is one of many camps in the region offering opportunities for children and youth to show their leadership.

As we wrote this column for International Education Day (January 24th), we were inspired to take a deeper look at the diverse patchwork of nature-inspired camps on offer here in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. These camps play an important role in the community by developing biophilia (closeness to nature) in our youngest generation.

To reiterate this point, Jacob Rodenburg, Executive Director of Camp Kawartha and leader of the Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship, asks, “What are the key game-changing experiences that help motivate? A lot of this isn’t rocket science, is it? Little kids need a chance to love the earth, to activate their senses.”

The climate crisis not only amplifies the inequalities people may face, but also exacerbates the emotional anxiety that youth are disproportionately experiencing. Camps are a powerful tool to address this fear by engaging in thoughtful dialogue and supporting youth agencies to create change. (Photo: Jessica Todd / GreenUP)

The enormous local contingent of natural camps certainly offers this for campers. Our area is home to Trent TRACKS Camps, Jumping Mouse Outdoor School, Gritty Classroom, Camp Kawartha and Rowantree Children School to name a few.

Summer camps offer children and young people the opportunity to connect with nature. They can also benefit youth by building their resilience in times of need.

“We often underestimate the positive impact that spending time in nature can have on our mental well-being and resilience,” explains Anne Corkery, renowned environmental educator and founder of Gritty Classroom Camps. “At a time when our younger population is lacking resilience and our climate is in crisis, we need to nurture a connection between our children and the natural world more than ever.”

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As our campers grow, so do their interests and what worries them. Tweens and teens benefit most from authentic opportunities for hands-on experience combined with real work. Rodenburg states that “when [young people] As they get older, they need to take direct action.”

Participate in climate leadership camps.

GreenUP’s Climate Leadership Camp for girls, two ghosts and gender-biased youth will once again roll through the community with week-long camps tailored for 11-13 age groups.

Climate leadership camps at GreenUP provide youth with opportunities to discuss, respond to, and relate to climate change issues through meaningful action. (Photo: Jessica Todd / GreenUP)

The impacts of climate change are being felt disproportionately at many intersections of lived experience and are further increasing inequalities in our society.

“One solution is to increase access to educational programs that respond to inequalities,” offers Tegan Moss, executive director of GreenUP. “At GreenUP, we have done just that with the Climate Leadership program.”

The camp can create inspiring environments in which to improve skills, engage in respectful dialogue and have fun too – all in the name of climate leadership.

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During the Climate Leadership program, GreenUP education staff introduce this group of campers to trusted mentors who generously share their expertise and passion for climate action.

This summer this cohort will have the opportunity to learn from B!KE, The Diverse Nature Collective, Elder Dorothy Taylor of Oshkigamong/Curve Lake First Nation, The Endeavor Centre, Nourish and the Kawartha World Issues Center Gender Justice Team.

With the support of an incredible community of climate action heroes and opportunities like nature camps, young people have the chance to build the skills and confidence they need to be climate leaders now and into the future.

Peterborough GreenUP's Climate Leadership Camp for Girls, Two-Spirit and Gender Diverse Youth includes a bike literacy component in partnership with B!ke - The Community Bike Shop. B!ke's Community Outreach Manager Ness Pringle says so "I really enjoyed working with the children because it allowed me to be a part of the process that helped them settle in and open up socially. Many of them, I noticed, at the end of the day already had more knowledge about the mechanics of their bikes." (Photo: Genevieve Ramage) — Peterborough GreenUP’s Climate Leadership Camp for Girls, Two-Spirit and Gender Diverse Youth includes a bike literacy component in partnership with B!ke – The Community Bike Shop. Ness Pringle, B!ke’s Community Outreach Manager, says they “really enjoyed working with the kids because it allowed me to be part of the process of helping them settle in and open up socially. Many of them, I noticed, at the end of the day already had more knowledge about the mechanics of their bikes. (Photo: Genevieve Ramage)

Registration for Summer Ecology Park Camp is now open at greenup.on.ca. Email [email protected] for more details.

Thanks to the support of the Community Foundation, we are able to enhance our program and offer four fully funded, priority places for Climate Leadership campers this year.

The Community Foundation of Peterborough Equality Grants are made possible thanks to a collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund with support from the Government of Canada.