The Bridging Environments program worked with Burnaby North High School on a project to identify, educate, and reassure students about environmental concerns. The project aimed to bring optimism and motivation for continual change and impacts. The team created an in-depth survey using Survey Monkey to gather responses from over 140 students about how the environment affects their emotions. They advertised the survey through the school's leadership program and mental health/environmental club via Instagram stories, posts, bulletins, and QR codes. The team collaborated and researched multiple topics with mentors to determine what environmental impacts students were concerned about, how environmental topics were typically perceived, and how students felt about the current global environment based on personal experience and media portrayals.

Gladstone Secondary School worked towards improving the school's recycling practices. The project aimed to improve sustainability practices by providing a quality recycling program at school to incorporate sustainability into students' and staff's lives. The project was targeted towards everyone at school, including staff and students. The team collaborated with school administration and waste engineers, conducted a waste audit of a compost, recycling, and garbage bin, and identified important goals to work on for the next year, including improving the accessibility of recycling bins and raising awareness about proper disposal. The team also worked on creating infographics, implementing media campaigns, and outreach.

Killarney’s Environment Club was concerned about the incorrect disposal of the popular ramen noodle bowls sold at their school store, so they researched replacements as well as disposal options, and began campaigning to raise awareness about how to properly dispose of the bowls. They also worked on designing an environmentally themed mural to be painted at their school.

During Earth Week, the club members organized and promoted a session, presented by SFU Faculty of Environment students, which focused on how to get involved in environmental action inside and outside of university.

Inspired by the first workshop’s Keynote Speaker from Ban the Bottle, Burnaby South’s Green Team decided to work towards banning the use of plastic water bottles in their school. They began by attending a SFU Ban the Bottle meeting to learn more about the SFU club’s experience in successfully banning all plastic water bottles from SFU campuses.

With guidance from their mentors Jamie, Omar, and Erin, the club met with school administration to propose their idea and emphasize its importance. After these meetings, and due to delays from the covid-19 pandemic, the club shifted their timeline and focused this year’s efforts on building awareness within their school community so that they would have more support when taking further steps the following year. They planned a social media campaign, as well as newsletter blurbs to get the word out about the importance of no longer using single use plastic water bottles. The Green Team and Mentors hope to continue their ambitious yet important project next year and already have brainstormed plans to do so.

Killarney’s Environment Club decided to bring awareness to the excessive items we own. They ran a donation drive with two other clubs at their school, Keyclub and Female Empowerment, resulting in 300 items being donated to the MCC Thrift Store! The students running this drive say they learned about project planning and effective communication. They got to see the benefits of zero-waste thinking in action. Kudos to them, and their awesome SFU Mentors Flora and Helen.

Our neighbours down the hill approached their project through the lens of climate justice. The Earthwise Club created a 30-minute recorded webinar to educate the community on the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project. They presented facts, concerns, and the significance of the pipeline for the environment and local Indigenous peoples. Amazing work Earthwise team, and their SFU Mentors Kiana and Bradley!

“Taking on this initiative with a group in which each person shares the common passion for saving our planet was overall a very enlightening and fun journey” says the club leader.