Oceans Vignettes

How Blue Are You?

In 2001, many young people in Newfoundland and Labrador were feeling kind of blue. Not because they were unhappy, but because they were participating in educational workshops on oceans issues called How Blue Are You?

In the spring of 2001, the Conservation Corps of Newfoundland and Labrador (CCNL) proposed a partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to develop and implement the How Blue Are You? workshops. The CCNL is a non-profit organization that provides young people with meaningful work, training and educational opportunities in the areas of environmental and cultural heritage conservation and enhancement.

In the summer of 2001, 48 workshops were completed in 25 communities across Newfoundland and Labrador. Approximately 1,500 young people participated in the workshops as well as over 500 parents and adult leaders. The majority of the workshops took place in community halls, centers, national/provincial parks, as well as community/town/city festivals. The audience included summer parks and recreational programs, kids day camps, YM/YWCA and the general public. Workshops were also presented to adult groups such as the English as a Second Language Program, the Association for New Canadians and Senior Groups.

In the fall of 2001, the How Blue Are You? workshops were delivered through local school curricula. The workshop was revamped to fit a classroom setting and under the advisement of the Avalon East School Board, the workshop was delivered to the Grade Four habitat section of the science curricula. Nine workshops in total were presented to more than 270 students. As a result of their success, the workshops were expanded to include all grades from Kindergarten to Grade six as well as one Grade nine class.