Métis youth learn about environment in day camps
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/08/2022 (1290 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Métis youth are getting a chance to learn more about the impacts of climate change while also taking part in workshops and activities this summer.
The Métis Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow (MELT) program, aimed at school-aged Métis youth, is running this week in different regions of the National Homeland of the Red River Métis, including one at Brandon’s Riverbank Discovery Centre that wraps up today.
According to the Manitoba Métis Federation’s website, the program is also a way for youth to experience Red River Métis culture and heritage while discovering how to turn climate education into climate action.
Some program activities include canoeing and aquatic education, fishing workshops, culture and environment camps, environmental cleanup events and more.
MMF vice-president Leah LaPlante said it’s important for Métis youth to learn about climate change and other environmental issues.
“Indigenous people usually take a very strong stand on the environment, and looking after things to make sure that we have a safe place to live.”
In a telephone interview with the Sun, LaPlante said that in times past, when most Métis people lived in communities close together, it was easy for children to learn about the environment from their elders.
“But now that everybody’s so spread out, and environment is such a topic of conversation everywhere you go, we just decided that we had the capabilities and we definitely needed to follow through on offering this programming for youth.”
LaPlante recently spent the day at the Riverbank Discovery Centre helping teach a group of youth how to make slingshots.
“It was just fantastic,” LaPlante said. “Those boys were so excited and so attentive. We actually just guided them through, so at the end of it they had a slingshot … that they had made themselves. It was a beautiful experience.”
Shannondoah Fleury, a cultural youth worker with the MMF’s southwest region, said the programs, which are free for Métis youth, give the kids both skills and experience in environmental issues.
“Some of the activities they have are water sampling, there will be some environmental monitoring, bird and plant identification … they learn how to canoe and [about] water safety … and then also fishing.”
Fleury said these skills and experience will serve young people well as they grow up.
“It helps get them in that mindset pretty early on, and then they get to learn a lot.”
» mleybourne@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @miraleybourne