NewRoots
Vision
NewRoots is a student-led initiative that aims to bring awareness to the current plight of our world’s forests. Every year, 15 billion trees are cut down. Up to 30% of those trees are harvested illegally, many from vital rainforest ecosystems. Deforestation in Canada not only destroys important heritage sites and habitat, but it releases carbon into the air that was previously stored in carbon sinks beneath our forests. NewRoots aims to raise awareness about deforestation on a school level. Today’s students will soon be responsible for taking care of our forests, and we believe that it is imperative that they understand the importance of our natural world and the interconnectedness of our ecosystems.
Action
In collaboration with The Canadian Rockies Youth Network, we have worked to distribute 1,500 tree saplings to the students at our school. With these saplings, students are given educational resources to learn about the struggles of our forests. We have worked to create conversation about these topics in the classroom to help students form a bond with their environment.
Reflection & Celebration
Our class agrees that overall, this project was a huge success. Even though acting to protect our forests requires a global effort, the first step is making people aware. Our action has helped to create conversation in our school and raise awareness in our community. Students are making efforts to be more responsible in their consumption of products that could harm forest ecosystems. When our saplings mature, they will be able to contribute to the ever growing fight against climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.