Youth Summit 2018 © Daynan Lepore
About
On September 21–23 2018, environmental leaders from across the province came together at YMCA Geneva Park in Orillia for Ontario Nature’s ninth annual youth summit. The event, partnered with the Youth Council, allowed 106 youth from 74 communities to participate in a number of workshops including:
- Pollinators and youth action
- Amphibian surveys
- Power to affect change and leadership insights
- Traditional medicine
- Learning about Aboriginal clan systems
- Freshwater ecology
- The urgency to address climate change
- Birds of prey
- Zero waste living
Networking Forum © Daynan Lepore
Highlights
Other memorable moments included morning activities like bird watching, yoga, swimming in Lake Couchiching and an evening campfire with stories and songs to bring everyone together.
The Great Group Challenge had teams facing off in fun activities. Youth Summit participants were able to connect and discuss ideas with their peers in the Networking Forum.
Chloe Dragon Smith, the keynote speaker from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, inspired youth to get outdoors as we are all nature.
Children in the woods workshop with Skid Crease © Noah Cole
Photo Album
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Over the past nine Youth Summits, we have engaged young people from 178 communities across Ontario.
Thank you to our Nature Network member groups and others whose financial support has made the summit possible:
| Bancroft Field Naturalists | Nature Guelph |
| Bert Miller Nature Club of Fort Erie | Nature League of Collingwood |
| Blue Mountain Watershed Trust Foundation | Nature London |
| Brodie Club | North American Native Plant Society |
| Carden Field Naturalists | North Durham Nature Club |
| Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority | Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society |
| Charleston Lake Environmental Association | Ontario Field Ornithologists |
| Conservation Sudbury | Orillia Naturalists’ Club |
| Credit Valley Conservation Authority | Ottawa Field Naturalists |
| Four Seasons Conservancy | Owen Sound Field Naturalists |
| Friends of Charleston Lake Park | Pembroke Area Field Naturalists |
| Friends of Frontenac Park | Pickering Naturalists |
| Friends of MacGregor Point Park | Port Hope Rotary |
| Friends of Mashkinonje | The Quetico Foundation |
| Friends of Minesing Wetland | Quinte Field Naturalists |
| Friends of Nancy Island & Wasaga Beach Park | Rankin Resource Group |
| Friends of Ojibway Prairie | Saugeen Nature |
| Friends of Salmon River | Sault Naturalists’ Club of Ontario & Michigan |
| Halton/North Peel Naturalists | Science North |
| Hamilton Naturalists’ Club | South Peel Naturalists Club |
| Ingersoll District Nature Club | St. Ignatius High School |
| Kawartha Field Naturalists | St. Thomas Field Naturalists Inc. |
| Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority | Sudbury Naturalists |
| Leeds Grenville Stewardship Council | Sydenham Field Naturalists |
| Lennox & Addington Stewardship Council | Thickson’s Woods Land Trust |
| Long Point Biosphere Reserve Foundation | Toronto Field Naturalists |
| Manitoulin Nature Club | Toronto Ornithological Club |
| Master Naturalist Program at Lakehead University | Vankleek Hill Nature Society |
| Midland Penetanguishene Field Naturalists | Waterloo Region Nature |
| Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists | Willow Beach Field Naturalists |
| Mycological Society of Toronto | York Environmental Stewardship |
| Nature Barrie (Brereton Field Naturalists Club) | York-Simcoe Nature Club |
The success of the Youth Summit would not be possible without the contributions from the following program sponsors:
The Chawkers Foundation
2019 Youth Summit for Biodiversity
Please check back for updates about the 2019 Youth Summit. If you have any questions or are interested in sponsoring the event in 2019, please contact Christine Ambre, Conservation and Education Coordinator, at 416-444-8419 ext. 244 or christinea@ontarionature.org.