Generation Green 2019-2020

GENERATION GREEN
2019-2020

What is Generation Green?

Generation Green is a youth led initiative with the goal of engaging Halton students in climate action leadership, and supporting them in their commitment to greenhouse gas emission reductions in order to drive change and action in their communities.

With the support of the Halton Climate Collective, each student will complete a project that reduces their community’s greenhouse gas emissions. The program launches at the Generation Green Youth Un-conference, where students are introduced to their community projects, and then concludes at the Wrap-Up Event, where students are given the opportunity to share their project and see what their peers accomplished.

The 2019/20 Generation Green program has come to a close. To stay up to date on future opportunities, please subscribe to the Halton Climate Collective monthly newsletter (click here).

Youth Un-conference

The 2019/20 Generation Green Program launched at the Generation Green Youth Un-conference, an event designed by youth for youth, where students are given the tools, resources, and inspiration to actively empower them to reduce Halton’s carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.

On the day of the event, students are given the opportunity to hear from an outstanding line up of community experts, leaders, and engagers, who will educate and inspire youth through a keynote talk, panel discussion, and various workshops. At the end of the day, the students will go back to their communities and use the tools and skills that they learned to implement a community project that will reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. They will then be asked to track and measure their impact, and report back in Spring 2020 with their results.

For more information about the Youth Un-conference, click here.

Community Initiatives

Students who join Generation Green will be asked to implement an initiative in their community that will reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Students who successfully reduce their community’s greenhouse gas emissions will receive volunteer hours and a Certificate of Completion, and will be eligible to win one of our amazing prizes. As an added bonus, students are encouraged to align their initiatives with a school or science fair project. These projects will also look great on a resume or college/university application.

In order to make this process as easy as possible, students will have full support from the Halton Climate Collective, as well as access to several resources, webinars, and an opportunity for face to face meetings with HCC staff. The Halton Climate Collective staff will be following up with students in order to provide guidance and advice, and to avoid potential issues as much as possible. As such, each student is asked to submit three check-in forms. A member of the Halton Climate Collective will review each submission in order to ensure students are on the right track, and will provide individualized feedback. Please click on each link to complete the form.

Project Proposal – Once you have an idea for your community initiative, please take 5-10 minutes to complete the Project Proposal so that we can approve your project and provide you with some feedback (due within two weeks of joining Generation Green).

Progress Report – Once you begin planning and executing your project, please take 5-10 minutes to complete the Progress Report to inform us of any potential challenges so that we can provide you with the support and resources needed to overcome them (due within one month after the submission of your Project Proposal).

Final Report – Once you have executed your project and calculated your impact, please take 20-30 minutes to complete the Final Report Form (due Sunday, March 8, 2020).

Wrap-Up Event – Join us on Friday, March 20, 2020 to share your project and see what your peers have accomplished over the past few months.

Volunteer Hours Tracking Sheet – At the conclusion of the program, please submit your Volunteer Hours Tracking Form to alana@haltonenvironment.ca.

Wrap-up Event

UPDATE: For the safety and well-being of all members of the Generation Green program, and in consultation with our partners, we have taken the proactive step to move the Wrap-Up Event to an ONLINE PLATFORM in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Wrap-Up Event will now be held on Zoom from 10:00 – 11:30 am on Friday March 20. Students are still asked to prepare a presentation, which will be posted to our website after the event.

March 20, 2020
10am – 3pm
Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre (2302 Bridge Road, Oakville, Ontario)

On March 20, 2020, Generation Green students will come together at the Wrap-up event to share their projects and their impact with their peers in a science-fair style set-up. Students are free to present their projects however they would like, such as a video, poster board, PowerPoint, picture collage/ slideshow, etc. Over the course of their initiatives, students are encouraged to document their progress (photos, videos, news articles, social media, etc.). At the event, successful students will also receive their Certificate of Completion, a pizza party, and a chance to win prizes and awards! In order to be eligible for prizes and awards, students must meet all of the following criteria:

Successfully complete a project that reduces your community’s greenhouse gas emissions, and submit your Final Report by March 8 at 11:59pm.
Write at least 1 article about Generation Green and/or post at least 10 climate-related posts on social media, tagging #GenGreen, @haltonclimate (Twitter) or @haltonclimatecollective (Instagram), and actively follow, like and share other climate change and #GenGreen related social media posts.
Watch at least 4 of the webinars. Register for future webinars or watch past webinars at climatecollective.ca/webinars. Attendance will be taken at live webinars. If you are watching a past webinar, you must fill out this very easy Webinar Form to verify that you watched the webinar.
Be actively involved in the final event on March 20. If you are unable to attend the event, you are still eligible to win, as long as your project is represented at the event.

Meet the Program Co-ordinators:

Alana graduated from Brock University in 2018 with a BSc in Biochemistry (co-op). After completing several co-op work terms in the pharmaceutical industry, her interests shifted towards the environmental sciences. She completed her undergraduate research project studying the effects of different soil amendments on plant growth and silica levels in cover crops and grapes, and also worked on the organization and digitalization of the Brock University Herbarium. More recently, Alana has completed her Master of Environmental Science at the University of Toronto, and is now working as a member of the Halton Climate Collective, focusing on engaging youth to drive climate action in the community of Halton to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change. Outside of school and work, Alana loves the outdoors and is an avid athlete, playing provincial level soccer as well as many other recreational sports, coaching kids’ soccer, and watching sports in her free time.

Afreen obtained a B.Sc. in Biology, with a minor in Psychology at Ryerson University. She co-founded Ryerson in Support of Red Cross to fundraise for global humanitarian issues and raise awareness for causes such as mental health, and food insecurity. After graduating, she volunteered with Halton Environmental Network to organize 5, 100 Debates on the Environment, one of which involved brainstorming a climate themed question with high school students to ask political candidates. Upon seeing their enthusiasm, she now aspires to be an advocate for the younger generation and provide them with the voice and necessary tools for climate action change. Utilizing her strength in event planning and passion for the environment, she hopes to engage communities in an interactive way to promote this message while working with Halton Climate Collective. She enjoys volunteering, reading books and anything superhero themed.