An idea that began small has grown into an enormous undertaking for a young Powell River resident.
Graham May, a graduate of Brooks Secondary School who is working toward a degree in international relations and environmental studies at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, is planning a cross-country bicycle trip this summer, with stops along the way to give workshops to young people.
May, 20, said the idea started through a conversation with his best friend. They realized both of them live on the west coast of Canada, attend school on the east coast and study how humans have to reduce their impact on the environment. “We flew back and forth twice a year between these two places,” May said. “There was a realization of how ridiculous that situation is.”
They decided to bike to school this summer, May said, and put into practice what they were learning.
The trip, at about 9,000 kilometres, will take three months. May and his friend started asking other friends if they wanted to be involved. “There was an incredible amount of support that we received from every single corner.”
The contingent grew to six cyclists, who decided to found a group, called GrassRoutes, with a goal to inspire youth-led environmental action. They decided to give workshops to youth during their journey back east. “We are also raising money along the way to support environmental projects that those youth come up with,” he explained. “The workshops are the most important part of the journey to us now, because that’s where our vision becomes a communal vision.”
The focus of the workshops is to show young people that they have the power to enact change, May said. “It’s trying to avoid a lot of the negative representation of the environment...that the environment is going to implode and we’re all going to die. It’s much more talking about the fact that youth have a critical role in preventing that and that there’s a whole plethora of ways that you can do so.”
Grants to youth will be awarded on an application basis. “We’re saying if you can come to us with an absolutely water-tight project plan, we’re willing to support it and help you move forward with it. The reason we’re able to do that is because we’ve received some really excellent funding from other groups, from the British government, most randomly and wonderfully.”
The money the group is raising is administered by the Environmental Youth Alliance, a Vancouver-based charity which provides tax receipts for donations. Many groups in Powell River have been “incredibly supportive,” May added, as well as groups across the country.
The presentations are kicking off this week in Powell River, May said. The first workshop will be held at 1:30 pm on Thursday, May 24 at Brooks. “The really exciting thing is that we’re going to have this whole cross-Canadian journey, involving now hundreds of people, start here in Powell River.”
More information, including a donation page, is available at the group’s website.
