“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
-- Victor Frankl - An Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor.
This year marked the second year of EcoSuperior’s New Leaf Project, an initiative challenging residents of Thunder Bay to change their ways. Last year EcoSuperior planted a sunflower for each commitment we received totalling just under 50 participants. This year EcoSuperior received almost 300 commitments with the bulk of them coming from Woodcrest Public School. Michelle Furlotte, a teacher at Woodcrest, took the challenge not only to her class but to the entire school. With the assistance of Furlotte’s students they were able to collect 277 commitments to make a change.
EcoSuperior had the chance to meet 3 of the students and discuss the changes they chose to make. Aleski Luoma, Serena Radley-Hansen and Carly Fonso each took on a different challenge.
Luoma took on the challenge of picking up litter once per month. His family already participates in their own cleanup once per year around a local creek. Luoma plans on picking up litter when walking to his friends’ homes or when he goes to the park. Luoma believes that keeping litter off the ground will help keep animals safe who may get sick confusing it for food.
Radley-Hansen pledged to bike/walk to school each day. On Fridays her mother meets her at the school so they can walk home together. Radley-Hansen believes that walking and biking help reduce air pollution and reduces traffic which are both great benefits.
Fonso took on the challenge to stop drinking bottled water. Fonso is a student in Furlotte’s class and with a few other classmates went class to class collecting pledges. Fonso is working on convincing her brother to switch to tap water. She also mentioned her family has switched from bottled water for camping to a large jug of tap water. Fonso believes that bottled water results in a lot of empty bottles that many people don’t recycle.
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All 3 students were quite enthusiastic and EcoSuperior is very proud to have such a large contingent of students take on the pledge. Planting of the New Leaf Garden takes place on Wednesday June 15th. If you’d like to see their efforts in full bloom, be sure to visit Central Natural Environment Gardens, (on Central Avenue across from Craig Plumbing) the home of the New Leaf Garden project. Many thanks to the students of Woodcrest for showing us that you’re never too young to be a leader!
Page last updated on Tuesday, June 14, 2011
