This meeting is all about brainstorming and planning local action to protect and preserve our beautiful Greenbelt.
Together, we will discuss ideas, share insights, and develop strategies to make a positive impact on our community.
Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and contribute to a greener future. Mark your calendars and spread the word!
No experience necessary – just passion and concern.
Details and registration below! 👇
Date: Tuesday, September 26
Time: 7 – 8:30pm
Location: 91 Doran Road Midhurst, ON L9X 0L5
Official Plans are among the most important components of planning and building our communities, the places where we live, play, and work. They deserve to be given the highest level of consideration, which includes the best possible process of deliberation.
Corporate sponsorship opportunities for the “Gather for the Greenbelt” event in Barrie, Ontario, featuring in-person storytelling from Margaret Atwood, special guests Sarah Harmer, Jeff Monague, and poetry from Barrie’s Poet Laureate, Tyneisha Thomas.
Art installation by Rochelle Rubinstein will be featured, as well.
Join us for an in-person organizing session to advocate for protection of the Greenbelt.
Governments have failed to act to protect our communities and the futures of our children and grandchildren, and they continue to treat our environment as if it’s incidental to life, rather than a foundation for it.
We need strong community organizations to fight for our future, now more than ever.
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Cross-group organizing is a real threat to those in power, which is why we see a lot of attempts to get some people to believe that other people are to blame for their problems. When people see another group as the cause of their problems, it gives them somewhere to direct their very real frustration and anger.Â
Young people are undoubtedly leading the movement for climate justice. As you should be.Â
But we should also talk about the potential that working across generations could bring. We’re all familiar with the rivalries between generations – GenZ vs Millennials and of course, the Boomers (I’m sure there’s a meme coming to mind as you read this).Â
And sure, some seniors just don’t get it. But others do. We need to remember that they’ve lived through major social and political changes, and many of them were the activists and radicals of their time and are still fighting, whether we see them or not.
Division between groups – whether along racial lines, between the middle and working classes, or between generations – is created to prevent this kind of solidarity. We’ve seen similar things with traditional environmentalism and social justice in the move towards climate justice (a divide that has been closing in recent years thanks to the intersectionality of youth, especially BIPOC youth).
Cross-group organizing is a real threat to those in power, which is why we see a lot of attempts to get some people to believe that other people are to blame for their problems. When people see another group as the cause of their problems, it gives them somewhere to direct their very real frustration and anger.Â
“Division between groups – whether along racial lines, between the middle and working classes, or between generations – is created to prevent this kind of solidarity.”
This kind of conflict, often made worse by existing inequalities like racism and xenophobia, keeps people fighting each other instead of recognizing that a lot of the problems each group faces come from the same systems of power. Because if they realize this, then they can team up against that very system and be much more powerful together.Â
When people reach out and form relationships across groups, it makes each group stronger and creates allies.
Especially on the local level, a lot of the people in the climate action scene are from older generations – and many of them have been doing this for a long time. They have experience and can be valuable allies for youth-led climate justice. The youth-led part is still super important, but making space for those with different experiences and wisdom could be an advantage.Â
People from older generations have experience campaigning, organizing, fundraising, deposing. They know local politics and politicians better, know how the systems work, and have general life experience that can be really helpful to learn from.Â
And youth activists have the energy, imagination and boldness to make more radical demands. You’ve got the most to lose, aren’t caught up in the drama of local politics, understand the connections between environment and social justice, and have a new way of doing politics and dare to create different systems.
“People from older generations have experience campaigning, organizing, fundraising, deposing. They know local politics and politicians better, know how the systems work, and have general life experience that can be really helpful to learn from.”
Today, there’s a lot of division between us and seniors. There aren’t a lot of spaces where younger and older generations interact in any meaningful way other than between family members. Â
But the thing is that we have a lot in common, just in different ways. Our experiences are both often devalued. We both face social and physical barriers to participating in society.
Seniors face barriers to social participation in the form of:
Young people face barriers in the form of:
These are generalizations of course, but they are real barriers for many.
Both groups would benefit from more accessible social and political participation. Both would benefit from complete communities. Both would benefit from affordable housing. You get the idea – there’s similarities and opportunities to team up.
We can learn from past movements – collaboration and solidarity between groups can create a much stronger movement and, as history shows us, can make or break a movement completely.Â
What do you think about making space for intergenerational collabs in activism?Â
Kelly, signing off.Â
P.S – I think of these blog posts as an ongoing discussion. You can share your comments below, on social media (links below!) or get in touch with me at kelly@simcoecountygreenbelt.ca.
Kelly is SCGC's Youth Engagement Lead. She has a M.Ed. from OISE, and a B.A. (Hons) from Laurentian, where she specialized in Sociology. She's particularly interested in environmental education
Very soon, the federal government will be deciding whether the Holland Marsh Highway (aka Bradford Bypass) poses enough risk to the health of our environment and communities to designate it for a federal impact assessment. The 25-year-old studies the province is using are woefully out of date and must be updated before work proceeds. The Holland Marsh Highway poses significant risk to the environment, Lake Simcoe, and our communities.
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Our ability to create a different vision of the future opens up the paths to create those futures. Our ability to imagine these possibilities opens up what is actually possible, beyond the limits that are put on us.Â
With so many people experiencing disastrous events it makes sense that psychologists have seen an increase in anxiety, depression and post-traumatic-stress-disorder, especially in places that are feeling the effects of climate change right now. However, even those not directly affected by the disasters climate change is bringing are being psychologically affected by them.
Youth are often left out of the decision-making process, even though the decisions that are made will have the greatest impact on them, shaping their world for decades to come.
We think this should change. Help by sharing your voice, and get engaged!
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