TRCA Youth Council: What’s New

October 7, 2022

Launched in 2018, TRCA’s Youth Council aims to build healthy communities in TRCA’s watersheds through building capacity and engaging youth in learning opportunities, building and strengthening a youth network interested in environmental and sustainability issues, and identifying and understanding youth perspectives on current environmental issues.

The Youth Council comprises 10 Executive Members and a wider general membership of more than 300 young people between the ages of 16 to 30.

In 2020 and 2021, the Youth Council shifted to online and virtual activities, but this past summer we restarted in-person events and initiatives. Here are some of the things our Executive members have been up to.

Members of the Youth Council Executive visit the Archetype Sustainable House at Kortright.

Outreach Events and Presentations

The Youth Council Executive has been invited by several organizations to present about themselves and opportunities for other youth to get involved in environmental action.

In June, outreach events included tabling at TRCA’s Bike the Creek with Education and Training staff, a presentation at the in-person opening day of Into Nature’s Wild, an IMAX documentary at Ontario Science Centre, and a virtual presentation to the Brampton Environmental Alliance.

More recently, two Executive members joined the Conservation Youth Corps and Peel high school students at Albion Hills Field Centre for the Peel Climate Action Leadership Retreat, where they facilitated a workshop on climate stories and how to craft a climate action plan.

Kasturi Bhatt (first year student at the University of Toronto), Lillian Zhang (high school student in Richmond Hill), and Maham Malik (high school student in Vaughan) stepped up to take these events on.

Thank you to the Education and Training staff who have provided support for this outreach!

Kasturi at Bike the Creek.

Kasturi and Lillian at the Ontario Science Centre.

Toronto Island Environmental & Flood History Tour

The brainchild of Youth Council Executive member Elly Akkuyu, this event took place on August 13, aligning with a City of Toronto Master Plan Pop-Up event.

Elly and Amanda Lazarevski, TRCA Environmental Technician in Erosion Risk Management, designed a two-hour walking tour covering the environmental and flood history of the Toronto Islands, from Ward’s Island to Gibraltar Point, using a timeline developed for Elly’s master’s thesis research.

The weather was sunny, we identified sites of the 2020 TRCA emergency works, and participants learned about past physical changes to the Island community and the Class Environmental Assessment process currently underway (a collaborative effort between TRCA and the City of Toronto).

A stop at Ward’s Island on the August 13 Toronto Island tour.

#DiscoverTRCA Summer Challenge

Throughout July and August, you may have seen the TRCA website feature a nine-week series of challenges. Youth Council members designed three themed challenges a week; every participant who tackled one of these were was entered into a weekly prize draw.

At the end of the Summer Challenge, two winners were selected to receive the grand prize: an MEC gift card, a TRCA Conservation Parks Pass, and a chance to chat with a TRCA staff member about a topic of their interest.

One of our winners put together a backyard movie night for the Week 6 challenge: Nature & Storytelling.

Executive Members’ Retreat at Kortright Centre

While we host monthly Executive meetings, most of our members have never had the opportunity to meet one another in person — until now! On September 10, we carpooled to Kortright Centre for Conservation for a retreat.

Starting with active icebreakers and a tour of Kortright with Omar Bacchus, Education Interpreter, the group enjoyed the outdoors while bonding with one another.

In person, we were able to discuss the Youth Council’s vision for the rest of the year, setting objectives to increase engagement with our general membership and collaboration between Executive members.

We were also able to fit in a hands-on activity, painting our own custom tote bags to encourage sustainability.

Youth Council Executive members explore the trails at Kortright.

How You Can Support the Youth Council

The Youth Council is busy organizing several events and initiatives for this fall and winter, including a Meadoway hike, an Indigenous knowledge sharing event, and a documentary screening. And there are lots of other ways that you can take part!

Are you working on a TRCA project that could use more input and perspectives from the public? Are there events that could include or feature a TRCA Youth Council member? Would you like to speak about your job at TRCA at a Youth Council meeting or event to help mentor future environmental professionals?

If the answer to any of these is yes, we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to Jackie Ho at Jackie.ho@trca.ca to talk about ways to engage youth in TRCA’s important work.