Green Matters Heroes
People and groups in our community who are taking action and leading the way . . .
Taryn McKenzie-Mohr
Taryn is a 17-year old Grade 12 student attending Fredericton High School. Actively involved in her community, Taryn has been a member of the Junior Board of the Children's International Summer Villages (CISV) Fredericton Chapter for several years. She is a youth representative on the provincial Citizenship Task Force, which is working to improve student citizen engagement through New Brunswick's educational curriculum. Within her school, she helped organize Student Vote, has played an active role on the student council executive and participates in Model UN. She also organized Fredericton's first student film festival in 2008. Taryn is a lifeguard, member of her school's varsity swim team, and a swimming instructor.
Last April, Taryn was trained by Al Gore and The Climate Project Canada to be a presenter of 'An Inconvenient Truth.' As a presenter, she works to educate and mobilize youth in relation to the climate crisis. Since youth will inherit the consequences of our leaders' decisions, she believes that they should be actively involved in shaping solutions.
In December 2008, Taryn was one of two Canadian high school students sponsored by the British Council Canada to attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Her role there included meeting with and lobbying top governmental officials, engaging with the media and working collaboratively with international youth to affect the outcomes of the conference. Also, during the high-level negotiations she was one of four international youth chosen to deliver the youth address on behalf of 500 youth attending the conference. In January 2009, Taryn received the Mayor's Environmental Award for the City of Fredericton for her service to the community and the environment.
In the fall, Taryn hopes to begin her studies at the University of Waterloo in their Environment and Resource Studies Program. She plans to combine her studies in the Faculty of Environment with studies in the Faculty of Arts to gain a better understanding of the effects of climate change on areas such as gender equality, economics, conflict, human rights and development. In the future, she is interested in pursuing a career in environmental law, politics and environmental policy.
Carl Duivenvoorden - Change your corner of the world
Carl Duivenvoorden was raised on a dairy farm in northern New Brunswick, and attended the NS Agricultural College. Carl has always had a deep interest in the well-being of our planet. His elementary school was nestled between the smokestacks of 2 large industries, and somehow it didn't seem possible that all that smoke could just go 'away' without consequence, never to be seen again. Last year, Carl read "An Inconvenient Truth", the book that catapulted climate change to the top of the global agenda. In April, he became one of just 21 Canadians trained by Al Gore. Since then, he has presented "An Inconvenient Truth" to more than 9000 people across the Maritimes, in English and French. He looks forward to sharing his passion with you.
For more information, visit Carl's website.
Kayla Blackmore - Helping the environment for a good cause
Kayla Blackmore is a grade 12 student at Fredericton High School. She created Project KATS ((Karing Athletes Teaming up to Support our community), as a was for athletes to show their appreciation for the community, and help the environment at the same time. School teams will challenge one another, by collecting recyclables at sporting events and facilities, and use the money from redemption to fund a project for the Pediatric Unit at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital.
Because Kayla has demonstrated a desire to give back to her community, and help reduce the impact on the environment, she is truly a Green Matters Hero!
For more information on Project KATS, click here.
Peter Corbyn - Climate Change Messenger
Peter Corbyn is professional engineer in Fredericton who has been working on climate change issues since 1992. In 2005, he launched earthinstitute.ca to provide homeowners and businesses with practical energy saving solutions. He was recently chosen to participate in Al Gore's Climate Project and was trained by the former Vice President of the United States to deliver the award-winning presentation 'An Inconvenient Truth'.
Click here to find out more about Peter and the Climate Project.
Valerie Hillier is challenging you!
Valerie Hillier constantly looks for new ways to conserve energy, waste less and challenge herself to do more for the health of our planet. Seeing the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" moved her to invite the community to share her passion for sustainable living. In her weekly e-letter entitled 'A Challenge to Inconvenience Yourself', Valerie challenges people to live more responsibly and provides them with ideas about how to do it. Since launching her e-letter in September 2006, her subscription list has doubled and is growing by the day. If you are interested in receiving her challenges, you can e-mail her.
