Youth Climate Justice Group
Land Honouring
The Youth Climate Justice Group, and the conversations that arise from it, are grounded in the understanding that they are taking place on stolen Lək̓ʷəŋən (Le-KWUNG-en) and W̲SÁNEĆ (Wh-say-nech) territories. We strongly believe that our ambitions to address the impacts of climate injustice cannot be separated from that of colonialism and we hold ourselves accountable to engaging in work that benefits communities and individuals. We seek to honour the lands that we occupy in a good way by uplifting and listening to Indigenous voices and taking the time to engage in land-based relationship building.
WHat is the Youth Climate Justice Group?
The Youth Climate Justice Group is a gathering of youth ages 15 to 25 with the purpose of creating a space where youth can learn from one another and brainstorm solutions to the issues that arise from the intersection of climate injustice, colonialism, and racialized and gender-based inequities. The Group is structured as a series of conversations and field trips that take place 1 to 2 times per week and will be running from early June to late August 2022. Conversations will be held in-person at a variety of locations (with the option to join remotely for some) and group-led, but will occasionally feature guest speakers and knowledge holders.
At the end of the summer, we are hoping to put together a report outlining what changes we as youth want to see our regional government make. We will also have the opportunity to put together a final project; whether that is an art installation, a couple podcast episodes or just about anything we can think of! We encourage youth to bring a journal or a sketchbook with them to our conversations to help take notes and brainstorm ideas (or even just make some art)!
How can I take part in the Group?
The Group will consist of a facilitator (Alistair), a core group of youth that will be attending all or most of the meetings, and also any casual participants that may want to take part in the conversations! The core group is open to anyone who is interested in taking part and who is able to attend the introductory meetings and roughly 1-2 meetings per week. These folks are encouraged to bring friends who may be interested in taking part in the conversations. Core group members will also be welcome to join our field trips that will be taking place throughout the summer.
If you are interested in attending some of the conversations casually, be sure to keep an eye on our schedule at the bottom of the page for dates and locations of the meetings!
If you are interested in being a part of this core group, please click the sign-up button below and fill out our google form!
Orientation Package
Click on the button below to view the Orientation Package for the YCJ Group! This package details some of the roles and responsibilities of Core Group members, group values and guidelines, and directions on how to log volunteer hours with us!
Meet your facilitator
My name is Alistair (He/Him) and I am a Queer white settler currently residing on stolen Lək̓ʷəŋən territories. I was born and raised in Ontario but resettled on the Island roughly four years ago and I am so grateful for all the relationships I have made here. As the Youth Food Network’s Youth Engagement Coordinator I am so honoured to be organizing and facilitating the Youth Climate Justice Group this summer! I am passionate about art and the outdoors, and I’m grateful to be able to bring these connections into our work with the Panel.
You can always contact me at alistair@crfair.ca with any questions you may have about the Youth Climate Action Group and the Youth Food Network in general!
Conversation schedule
Keep an eye on the calendar for upcoming sessions and field trips! Each event should appear as an image on the calendar, hover or click on the image for more details on the event.
(This project took place between June-August 2022. While you cannot register for the events from this project anymore, you are welcome to click on the images and look through what events we hosted in the past!)