Dale Marshall, a climate change policy analyst for the David Suzuki Foundation, was the guest speaker at an environmental conference entitled “The Choices WE make MAKE a Difference” held at Stanstead College April 24.
Roughly 60 delegates from 10 schools, including Bishop’s College School, Lower Canada College, The Study, Trafalgar, Centennial Academy and Weston, took part in the daylong conference.
Marshall opened the conference with a lecture entitled “Why should I care about this environment thing?” in which he explored environmental issues, the world of environmentalists and why people choose to become one. He also discussed global warming and how people can help solve it.
The day continued with three workshops. The first, during lunch, was entitled “Where in the WORLD does your food come from?” which was a menu-driven look at how we can make a difference and help the environment through our food choices.
The second workshop was led by Jason Brueck, an environmental ecologist and educator at the Northwoods Stewardship Center in Vermont. Brueck and delegates explored the outdoor environment of the conference, using real-world examples on Stanstead’s campus to cover ecological concepts and processes integral to understanding how human choices and decisions have affected the natural environment.
Workshop three, “I want YOU to curb your consumption!” examined media, consumption and the environmental price tag associated with the choices we make.
The conference closed with a tree-planting ceremony and a gift of a sapling for each delegate.
