Calgary French and International School – A Discussion of Environmental Issues

Posted: 21 April 2021

Overview

Calgary French and International School hosted a Zoom discussion about environmentalism with a goal of trying to help raise awareness on how much our environments have changed in the past few years. The changes discussed could be a negative or positive. We also wanted to discuss possible short-term as well as long-term solutions to improve our environments around the world. We talked with students from India, the United States, Canada and Colombia about the differences in our environments from one country to the next and we talked about how contact with nature shaped our lives. We addressed what we could change in our personal life that could have an effect on nature and the environment surrounding us in a positive way, we thought and spoke about how our actions and habits influence how animals live and survive.

Planning

To plan this event, we did a lot of preparation. We started to plan this global discussion about six weeks before the actual day of presentation by meting at least once a week to choose a topic and then to assign work.  

We found a topic that we all thought was important to discuss. We made PowerPoints and a script which was vital so as student leaders we knew what to ask and discuss with the others. We did Zoom meetings every week to prepare as a group and went through the discussion. As an important final test we did a full scale run through practice before the event. Everything went well.

Details

We started the call by introducing ourselves as well as talking a little bit about our city and where we are from. We then showed a video that we made of ourselves explaining what we think environmentalism means and also what the environment means to us.

Then, we went into our first discussion break out rooms where we met students from different countries and we also talked about local environmental problems. Then, when we returned, we showed a video with Greta Thunberg where we learned that some of the greatest solutions for big problems are sometimes the simplest things like planting trees.

Next, we went back into our groups for our final discussion. In this meeting we focused on discussing some wider scale issues like the effects of the pandemic on the environment and animal health. Finally, at the end of the meeting we got some time to reflect on a few questions about the environment and we got to hear in a big group, certain people’s feelings toward this issue. We had so much participation and it made us feel very excited about the future of our planet! 

They didn’t plan any follow up but they are designing another call on the topic of Communication. Understanding and Diversity for next week!

Challenges

One of the biggest problems with planning this call was the organising times with our students on the planning committee and avoiding conflicts with different activities. 

There were also some logistical difficulties with organising more than 100 delegates on the Zoom call into break-out rooms. It took more time than we thought it would, so we as hosts had to improvise conversation! If we were to do this again, we would plan to have a brief activity while we divided people up into breakout rooms.

Impact 

This event had a positive impact on students because it was a good leadership opportunity and chance to meet people from around the world. It also had a positive impact on the teachers and staff as well because it inspired the teachers from CFIS. Additionally, as student leaders we had a great opportunity to learn about the environment in our region as well as issues and solutions in other countries and provinces. We were able to broaden our perspectives towards the environment around the globe and how it affects others.

Long term outcomes

We got to talk to so many different kids around the world and teach them about environmentalism. They can now inform others and spread the message of environmentalism. The more people that know about this world wide problem, the more our world can improve. We had a brief discussion about the long-term impact in the call with everybody and a lot of people said that they will inform others and spread the message which is going to improve our planet. Others said that they will make some changes in their own life like using less plastic or walking instead of driving. With all this said, we’re all so grateful for this incredible experience. We ended up interacting with different diversities, cultures and languages. This expanded our views on Environmentalism and showed us how different countries and people are impacted by this problem in their communities.

Advice

Author: Chantalle Bourque (RS Representative and Travel Studies Coordinator) and student leaders

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