Alberta Environment successfully hosted YES! a provincial youth environment summit in Kananaskis Oct 11-13, 2006. Almost 200 young people, aged 16-25, met with government and non-government environmental organizations to explore ways to encourage positive environmental action in their communities. Delegates included students nominated by all Alberta MLAs, First Nations leadership, plus some youth who attended the 2005 youth roundtables on the environment. It even included a Québec youth delegation, led by the Hon. Claude Béchard, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks.

To see where Alberta's delegates came from, see YES! delegates all over the map

Planning and delivery of the Youth Environment Summit was greatly helped by the Youth Advisory Committee. For more information about this committee, click here.

To see photos from the Youth Environment Summit, click here.

AN OVERVIEW OF YES!

Wednesday October 11

The Opening Ceremonies of YES! featured a prayer offered by an Elder from the First Nations Blood Tribe. First Nations Drummers from southern Alberta performed several songs to set the tone for the Summit.

Thursday, October 12

On Thursday morning, Hon. Guy Boutilier kicked off the day with the MOTIVATE session, in which he spoke directly with the delegates and listened to their concerns . This was followed by an exploration of environmental issues. Concurrent sessions were held on the topics of Land, Air, Energy, Water and Waste. In each session, there were four topic speakers: one from AENV, at least one from other environmental organizations, and one or two youth leaders, if available.

Following lunch, delegates were treated to an inspirational talk by keynote speaker, Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Severn talked about how her life experience has led her to become an environmental activist and how important it is for youth to work hard to ensure a better environmental future. For a transcript of Severn's speech, click here.

After Severn's talk, Hon. Claude Béchard, the Minister responsible for the environment in Québec, spoke about environmental initiatives and policies in his province.

Thursday afternoon included a trade fair during which delegates networked with organizations involved in youth and environmental programs. Featured organizations included:

Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corp	Alberta Communicty Development, Parks & Protected Areas - Volunteer Stewards
Alberta Environment - Careers	Alberta Sustainable Resource Development - Junior Forest Rangers & Wardens
Alberta Wilderness Association	Canadian Water Resources Association
Climate Change Central	Crowsnest Forest Stewardship Society
Ducks Unlimited	ECO Canada
Nature Conservancy of Canada	North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance
Oldman Watershed Council	Pembina Institute
Recycling Council of Alberta	Sierra Club of Canada – Prairie Chapter

The Bow River Basin Council and Yamnuska Mountain Adventures also participated in YES!

Following this networking session, delegates gathered in groups to begin work on a YES! Youth Declaration.

The evening program included a talk by Dr. Colleen Klein. Drawing on her experience from the Premier's Task Force on Crystal Meth, Dr. Klein described the perils of crystal meth amphetamine, and some of the associated environmental and social hazards.

Thursday evening concluded with a live performance about Climate Change presented by Evergreen Theatre. After the play, delegates had free time during which they had the option of hearing a live band, Zombie Dangerfield, or watching the National Film Board environmental film, “ Being Caribou”.

Friday, October 13

The first session on Friday morning featured Alberta youth who are already successful environmental champions. They described their projects and shared advice on how to make things happen. Click here for their stories.

Next, delegates connected with other delegates from their own region of the province. Sessions for northern, central and southern Alberta allowed delegates to connect with their regional colleagues to share information and support each other.

Following lunch, a “listening panel” assembled to hear the delegates' questions and comments. Some of Alberta's top environmental decision makers were present to listen to youth and respond to their questions. The panel included:

Hon.Guy Boutilier, Minister of Environment
Doug Griffiths, MLA Battle River-Wainwright
Mayor Ron Casey, Town of Canmore
Pierre Alvarez, President, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
Dr. Robert Page, Vice President of Sustainable Development, TransAlta Utilities
Louis Auger, Manager of Health, Safety and Environment Services, Shell Canada
Myles Kitagawa, Associate Director, Toxics Watch Society
Rebecca Reeves, ParksWatch Coordinator, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society

Hon. Guy Boutilier, Minister of Environment, wrapped up the Summit with an important announcement. A new Youth Environmental Stewardship Grant Program has been established in partnership with the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation. In its first year, AENV will dedicate $50,000 to provide grants to YES! delegates who move on to create new projects to benefit Alberta's environment . This grant program will later expand to support qualifying projects from other Alberta youth. More information is available on the Alberta Ecotrust website.