Youth High School Retreat for Climate Action
The Centre for Local Prosperity partnered with the Discovery Centre and Thinkers Lodge to bring together student representatives from Nova Scotia High Schools to an intensive two-day climate change retreat at the historic Thinkers Lodge, Pugwash, NS. Thinkers have bravely gathered here for over 64 years to address threats to humanity.
From June 29 to 30, 2022, 17 students selected from high schools across Nova Scotia attended this gathering focused on climate change education, networking, and communication planning.
The retreat featured invited guests with perspectives from an Indigenous, science and social justice lenses of the climate crisis. A key aspect of the retreat was the ability for peer-to-peer networking with students across the province, with the potential for students to learn and inspire one another.
Many of the attending students are planning to return to their high school or community in the Fall, 2022 to present their experiences at the retreat, to spur climate action and to help initiate networking with other students across the province. Each of these students will also be responsible for submitting an impact report describing the outcomes of their communication work, number of students reached, initiation of climate activities within the school or community and other beneficial effects.
Students had many deep and brave discussions about climate change, while learning from special guests Clifford Paul, Membertou, about Indigenous perspectives on humanity’s relationship to earth, Vanessa Hartley, Shelburne, on climate justice and Daria Goncharova, Discovery Centre, on climate science.
Word cloud on climate science 
Word cloud on climate science
Documentary (12 min): The Power of Gathering Youth for Climate Action
Discovery Centre is an interactive, hands-on science centre located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The mission of the Discovery Centre is to advance science literacy and inspire a passion for STEAM learning (science, technology, engineering, arts, math), particularly among youth who will be our next generation of innovators, researchers, and policy makers. Through interactive programming, curriculum-connected school workshops, technology camps, and community outreach programs, the Discovery Centre encourages young people to embrace the power of curiosity, gain confidence in their abilities, and fulfil their potential.
GenAction is a Discovery Centre-driven partnership to inspire youth to Climate Action. The purpose of the GenAction movement is to, in collaboration with more than 20 science centres across Canada, increase youth’s understanding of climate change science, empower them to take action on climate change, and inspire them to become leaders in climate action now and into the future. The collective goal is to inspire over 200,000 K-12 youth in every province and territory of Canada by 2024.
For additional information on this gathering, contact:
Robert Cervelli: 902-222-4391, robert@centreforlocalprosperity.ca
Daria Goncharova: 902-492-4422 (ext 2248), dgoncharova@thediscoverycentre.ca
