© Denis Bouvier

Since 1970, Earth Day has been promoting global environmental awareness every April 22nd. It is celebrated by over half a billion people in 17 countries according to Earth Day Network. EDN is associated with 17,000 organizations worldwide and engages tens of thousands of educators.

We can see the results with just one of Vancouver’s Earth Day celebrations organized by a group of Windermere High School students who call themselves, “Youth for Climate Justice Now.” After a parade down Commercial Drive, there were info booths, speakers and entertainment in Grandview Park at Charles and Commercial.

In the photo we see a windmill created by Windermere students. As their sign on the windmill states, they were “able to create a functional, sustainable piece of art with a few bolts, string, glue and pop cans. We, the youth, are realizing more about the climate crisis and wanted to send an inspiring message to the community. Together, we can achieve anything. Every day is Earth Day.” The windmill was pulled through the parade by the unusual pedal bike on its left side.

A prominent focus in this year’s Earth Day was opposition to 3 major oil pipelines from Alberta’s tar sands: the Keystone XL to the US, the Enbridge Northern Gateway to Kitimat, and the expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain to Burnaby. A youth-initiated petition was designed to support this opposition.

Bravo for today’s involved youth! I think their purpose is well summed up in a statement that was written on a pathway in Grandview Park: “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”