In 2021, the Biosphere Institute helped to launch The Canadian Rockies Youth Network. The Network connects high school-aged youth throughout the Rockies and the Foothills to discuss and take action on environmental issues affecting their communities and protected spaces.

Youth want a voice at the table for land management and conservation issues in their mountain spaces. The 2021 Canadian Rockies Youth Summit provided a framework for youth to discuss environmental challenges that are facing mountain spaces and to understand different ways of knowing our landscape. Participants gained the knowledge, tools, and connections to design and implement action projects that benefit their communities and protected areas. Action projects can be as diverse as the youth who inhabit this landscape. Examples include solar panel installations, multi-media awareness campaigns, bee hotels, aquaponics, trail stewardship, interpretive signage, community gardens, upcycling projects, organization of future Youth Summits and more.  

Youth want to be heard. Youth want to be change-makers. Youth want to take action on environmental issues.

Background 

Summit founder Ben Green’s idea for the event took shape when he saw a gap in youth consultation and engagement on Parks Canada Management Plans. His goal was to elevate youth voices as legitimate stakeholders in parks and land management decisions, and he saw the Canadian Rockies Youth Summit as a way of accomplishing that goal.  

The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley collaborated with high school students to plan the second annual Youth Summit from May 12-14, 2021. In addition to planning the Summit, we also helped to launch the Canadian Rockies Youth Network (CRYN). CRYN serves as a vehicle for youth to stay connected between Summits, build their knowledge and skills, access the guidance of local experts, and execute action projects.  

Youth Summit Recordings

Recordings from all of the 2021 Youth Summit have been made available to the public on the CRYN YouTube channel.

In the media:

Youth network hosting online summit discussing land use and development in the Canadian Rockies (Original article from the Rocky Mountain Outlook on April 27, 2021)

“This year especially, I’ve been working toward incorporating youth input into the planning of this year’s summit in order for youth to truly feel like this is their summit, not just one they’re attending. If youth aren’t empowered, they cannot meaningfully provide input to policy makers within the field of conservation, which ultimately, is the outcome we hope to achieve.” (Lucas Braun, CRYN youth director and co-founder)