by Maia Green

I lived overseas when I was young. In fact, I was lucky enough to spend some of my formative years living in the Fiji Islands. By the age of 10, I had friends living all over the world. Back then, it all seemed very simple to me. I would just start a worldwide environmental club and save the planet. I thought if everyone I knew invited all of their friends to join, soon enough, every person in the world would be doing good things for the environment every day, and the planet would be just fine.

As it turns out, it wasn’t quite that simple, and even after all these years, the planet still needs our help. So what are we going to do about it? Educate. Educate. Educate!

We need to create passionate and talented leaders who can take on today’s challenges with hope and creativity. I was inspired to take action as a child; now, as an adult, I am also inspired to take action. Now, however, it is about inspiring youth to take action themselves.

I have taken my first step toward making this happen by founding the non-profit organization Friends Uniting for Nature (FUN). It is the mandate of FUN to increase the amount of environmental education available to youth in BC. This summer, we are launching FUN Camps, a daily summer program for 10 to 15 year-old youth that focuses on environmental education, leadership skills and most of all FUN!

The program guides youth in living sustainably in an urban environment, while also giving them the passion and the tools to pass this knowledge on. The camps will be packed with exciting games, sports, arts, drama, hiking and specialized activities, such as the creation of solar powered cars, bike maintenance workshops and a visit to the UBC Farm.

FUN Camps has also launched a Sponsor-a-Student scholarship program, enabling individuals and businesses in the community to sponsor youth who would otherwise not be able to afford summer camp programs. Interested parties may make an online donation and receive a tax receipt.

For more information about registration or making donations, please contact Maia Green at maia@funcamps.ca or visit www.funcamps.ca The camps run Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM, beginning July 7. The cost is $185 per week.