An Interview with Advocate and Educator, Christal Earle

This is Part Four of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

Forgive me for getting personal for a moment, but there’s no way around it. Christal Earle, founder of Absolute Leadership Development, and her husband and co-founder Vaden, are my heroes.  Their passion, and compassion, for those living in poverty, is moving and motivating. Their dedication to empowering youth to live with purpose and change the world, inspires a broader audience than the teens they work with.

Through Absolute, Christal ... Read More »]]>

An Interview with Advocate and Educator, Christal Earle

This is Part Four of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

Forgive me for getting personal for a moment, but there’s no way around it. Christal Earle, founder of Absolute Leadership Development, and her husband and co-founder Vaden, are my heroes.  Their passion, and compassion, for those living in poverty, is moving and motivating. Their dedication to empowering youth to live with purpose and change the world, inspires a broader audience than the teens they work with.

Through Absolute, Christal and Vaden have created Hero Holiday, a program that allows high school students, corporate executives, and families alike, to experience humanitarian opportunities around the world. I encourage you to read this article, and check out their work online. You’re sure to find the resources you need to help your children become advocates for global good.

Chic Galleria: Why did you choose to target your organization to teens? What needs did you see in that community?

Christal: This may sound kind of crazy, but Adolf Hitler once said something that we have determined can be applied for all that is true and good: “If you turn the hearts of the youth, you can turn the hearts of the nation.” He was a deranged man with an evil agenda and a bad moustache, but there is a lot of truth to that statement.

We choose to invest in youth because they are already living life with so much passion, and they are looking for ways to express it and to make their mark on the world. They are able to see the bigger picture and are often a lot less tainted about the future than many adults.

CG: How does Hero Holiday prepare youth to be “global citizens” (Active, engaged, advocates for social change)?

Christal: With Hero Holiday, we really focus on two things: seeing change and being changed.

Yes, our humanitarian projects are making a difference through the schools, houses, community centres, etc. that we are building, but by far, the biggest change happens in the lives of our participants. It is very empowering to realize that you can make a difference.

When you become actively engaged in change, you become an advocate for what you have experienced. We focus on not only giving them the opportunity, but also in preparing them to take this opportunity and turn it into a lifestyle wherever they find themselves.

Youth today understand that we are all part of a global community and our Hero Holiday participants feel a special passion and conviction for what part they play in global hope and change.

Christal and her daughter, poised to change the world.

CG: What is social justice, and why should parents teach their children about humanitarian issues?

Christal: Now that I am a parent (we have recently adopted a 5 year old Haitian daughter), I see the incredible power of passing on a legacy to the next generation. I want my daughter to grow up in a world where she is one of the agents of change because she saw that in us. We took the time to expose her to not only what is going on in the world around her, but also to give her opportunities to experience how she can be a part of making it a better, safer, more just world.

Social justice isn’t so much about what others are experiencing as it is about where we choose to position ourselves. If we really see that we are all in this together, then our kids will pick that up from us. If we recognize that we all have a responsibility, and that it is a privilege not a burden, then I truly believe that we become what we live. Rather than looking at it like teaching them, I would call it, ‘including them’.

CG: What are some easy ways that families can help those in need in developing nations?

Christal: The possibilities are so endless that it may seem kind of intimidating to know where to start! So, to help break it down, I always tell people start with what you know. For example, educate yourself and your family about where your money is being spent, and on whether there are fair labour practices involved. Start with the basics: coffee, chocolate, sugar, clothing and learn for yourself the difference that happens when you buy fairly traded products.

Also, we are firm believers in child sponsorship in Absolute. My husband and I have worked with both Compassion and World Vision in particular, and have seen firsthand how much it affects a child, and family’s, life and future. There are a lot of great sponsorship programs out there to choose from, and it is a great project to do as a family.

Another great way for families to help those in need in developing nations is to volunteer together. Take a Hero Holiday, volunteer at a local immigration outreach program, learn a new language and culture together, and grow a passion together for a people group. Volunteer to be advocates for social justice programs in your area, and even learn about the UN Millenium Development Goals together.

Above all, EDUCATE yourself and find out what is going on in the world around you! Knowledge is power and that power could help save lives.

CG: Anything else you’d like to share?

Christal: I consider myself incredibly blessed to do what I do: I am a part of something that is making a difference. But recently, on one of our Hero Holiday trips, one of our student participants stood up to share how she was getting involved in social justice in her community, and she said something that I will continue to quote over and over again.

She talked about how, after such an incredibly powerful experience like Hero Holiday, she returned home and wondered if she would ever find any kind of opportunities to make a difference. And then she woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and said, “I am not waiting for the opportunity – I am choosing to be the opportunity today and every day from this point forward.”

I think that very eloquently frames what it is to live life in such a way that you leave a legacy of kindness, compassion and hope for the next generation: choose to be the opportunity every day.

Christal Earle, along with her husband, Vaden, is the co-founder and visionary of Absolute Leadership Development Inc., a not-for-profit organization that exists to empower emerging generations to change their world by living their lives with purpose. She has spoken to more than 800,000 youth and young adults across North America, Europe, South East Asia and the Carribean, and has partnered with organizations such as World Vision, Viva Network, the Red Cross and CASAA.

Part One: Permaculture, Sustainability and Your Family: An interview with Permaculture Designer, Douglas Barnes

Part Two: Introducing Your Kids to Conservation: An interview with Environmental Educator, Dan Orr

Part Three: The Family Table: How You Can Teach Your Kids About Sustainable Eating

Bryna Jones is a writer, mother, blogger and humanitarian from Ontario, Canada. Formerly Creative Director for at a small branding company, she specializes in online communicationand social media. She is currently Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator for World Vision Canada. Follow her on Twitter @brynajones.

Teaching our kids to think before they eat

This is Part Three of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

I first met Michael Pontbriand and Anne Blanchard when I signed myself (and the staff at my office) up for a 100 Mile Diet Challenge reality show. As the producers of this progran, Michael and Anne were wonderful, supportive and such fun to work with. They dealt with our coffee withdrawls, our frustrations, and in the end, helped us to see the importance of eating with awareness.

I am so pleased that they’ve agreed to ... Read More »]]>

Teaching our kids to think before they eat

This is Part Three of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

I first met Michael Pontbriand and Anne Blanchard when I signed myself (and the staff at my office) up for a 100 Mile Diet Challenge reality show. As the producers of this progran, Michael and Anne were wonderful, supportive and such fun to work with. They dealt with our coffee withdrawls, our frustrations, and in the end, helped us to see the importance of eating with awareness.

I am so pleased that they’ve agreed to share what they’ve learned from this project, and how they’re teaching their kids to eat fresh, local and healthy.

Chic Galleria: After working on the Eat Local Challenge have your personal eating habits changed? How so?

Anne: Most definitely! I previously cruised through any old grocery store tossing in anything from anywhere, no matter the season however, after working on our food doc, those carefree days are long gone. I challenge anyone to learn more about the food they eat and where it comes from and still be able to eat the same way again.

Food had never really meant much to me before. To me it was simply fuel. I knew what was typically considered to be healthy food and I tried to eat mostly that but now my food has so many more parameters! Healthy, sustainable, organic, local, non-genetically modified, and so on. If I sound ambivalent about my new eating habits that’s because I am. Now that I know better, I feel I have to do better or deal with the guilt. It would certainly be easier to continue to eat the way I always had but I really do believe that we must at the very least become conscious consumers.

And that’s where we are starting. We eat local and in season when we can. We search for organic and sustainably grown or produced food. At first, it was time consuming and more costly but we’re starting to settle into a grove now. We plant a huge vegetable garden and eat from it June through December, yes December. The garden slashes the costs of organic food and meets all the rest of the parameters. For other food, we’ve found local distributors of sustainable food. Even our local independent grocery store is now carrying ecologically raised local pork and locally grown spelt flour. So, it’s getting easier with every meal. And a pleasant surprise is that my fuel now tastes really good!

We haven’t become locavores, but we have become conscious and with each meal we become a little more aware of why eating this way makes sense for us, our community, and the environment.

CG: As parents, how have you integrated these changes in your children’s diet?

Anne: Integrating these changes in our children’s diet is challenging to say the least. Most of the time, our eleven year old is not impressed with what ends up on her plate. Luckily, our two year old is usually happy to eat anything. He happily grazes in the garden while we pull a few weeds. We continue to work on the oldest one. We try to encourage her to be involved in menu planning, grocery shopping, even gardening but not one of these glamorous jobs has convinced her that what we serve her is better than the convenience food she craves. We’re not giving up though. We hope that as long as we serve the good stuff now she will remember it when she’s grown and make healthy choices on her own. So in the mean time, we lay off the lectures of why we’ve chosen to eat this way and simply resort to sneaking garden fresh grated zucchini into the pasta sauce.

Teaching our children the importance of eating fresh, healthy food has never been so fun.

CG: Anne, you’re working on a school-based project to help kids make healthy eating choices. Could you explain this? Why did you feel compelled to do this?

Anne: While researching local food, I was presented with so many alarming facts about the effects of industrialized food on us and our children. To protect our children’s health I think kids need to learn that real food doesn’t come from a drive-through window. There’s no denying that fast food tastes good. You can’t argue with a kid’s stomach. I think what we need to do is give kids an alternative. Expose them to the real thing. Get them involved in a fun and creative way. I just recently read Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea and have been motivated to volunteer at my daughter’s school this year. I see a test kitchen where kids ages eleven to thirteen can experiment with real food. If they make it, they will eat it or at least they’ll be more likely to eat it.

CG: Why is it important to teach children about sustainable eating?

Anne: Sadly, we have not been good stewards of our planet. Our children are inheriting an uncertain environmental future. Granted it may not solve all our environmental issues, but if we teach children about sustainability with regards to food, something they interact with multiple times a day, maybe they will connect the dots between their choices and the effect those choices have on the environment.  This connection could lead them to move towards sustainability in all parts of their lives. Perhaps they will even grow to become guardians of this planet.

CG: As families, what are some ways that we can incorporate sustainable healthy eating into our busy lives?

Anne: Before you adopt a new behaviour such as this, it is important to be motivated. Otherwise, it’s tough to stick to it, especially when your stomach is growling and your toddler’s tummy is screaming! Luckily, getting motivated is easy. Simply watch a few food documentaries  and/or read a few books on the subject. There are many great books that I’ve enjoyed this past year, but for motivation, it’s hard to beat the visuals of a documentary like Food, Inc. Once you’re motivated, there are many easy first steps you can make. For our family, our vegetable garden has been the most rewarding way that we have incorporated sustainable and healthy eating into our lives. The garden requires a surprisingly small amount of time relative to the rewards it brings us. Here’s a list of a few more ideas:

• Shop at your local farmer’s market once a week
• Stop at a farm gate stand once this summer.
• Pick your own berries
• Share your desire to eat more sustainably with you neighborhood grocery.
• Learn to cook, its becoming a lost art
• Preserve something – it’s easier than you think

And of course eat locally.

Part One: Permaculture, Sustainability and Your Family: An interview with Permaculture Designer, Douglas Barnes

Part Two: Introducing Your Kids to Conservation

Part Four: Empowering Your Child to Become a Hero

Bryna Jones is a writer, mother, blogger and humanitarian from Ontario, Canada. Formerly Creative Director for at a small branding company, she specializes in online communication and social media. She is currently Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator for World Vision Canada. Follow her on Twitter @brynajones.

An interview with Environmental Educator, Dan Orr

This is Part Two of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

I met Dan in the way I seem to normally meet great people these days – on Twitter. Although Dan resides in the same region that I do, we’ve never actually met in person. What I know of Dan comes from his efforts to promote conservation authorities in southern Ontario. He’s done a wonderful job engaging his online community, and educating those of us who frequent that world. His passion shines through the ... Read More »]]>

An interview with Environmental Educator, Dan Orr

This is Part Two of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

I met Dan in the way I seem to normally meet great people these days – on Twitter. Although Dan resides in the same region that I do, we’ve never actually met in person. What I know of Dan comes from his efforts to promote conservation authorities in southern Ontario. He’s done a wonderful job engaging his online community, and educating those of us who frequent that world. His passion shines through the confines of the computer. He inspires me daily, and I’m so glad that he agreed to share his views on conservation and teaching children to appreciate our natural environment.

Chic Galleria: Why should conservation authorities be important to families?

Dan: This is a good, and maybe not so easy to answer, question but I’ll try. Conservation authorities (CAs) do many things. For one, CAs are large land owners. We own acres upon acres of significant natural areas we call Conservation Areas. These areas are open to the public at no cost (in our watershed anyways) for families to get out and explore nature, whether that be hiking, mountain biking, snow shoeing, picnicking etc.

Another good reason, and one that Lower Trent has been getting more involved in, is education. We go into classrooms and hold special events for students, such as the Quinte Children’s Water Festival, where we teach children about our natural resources and how to conserve and respect them.

I’ll mention one more point why conservation authorities are important to families. Over the years people have built their homes or towns near water or on floodplains.  Because of this, people have suffered considerable property damage when flooding occurs. One of our mandates is to monitor water levels along major creeks and rivers daily for just this reason. We warn residents, municipalities, etc when flooding may occur.  In addition to that, we may also restrict new developments near, or around these areas, to minimize flooding damage.

Of course, conservation authorities do much more than what I just mentioned.

CG: What are some of the problems facing conservationists, and environmentalists, today?

Dan: That is one loaded question! I could get really political here and talk about corporations and government, but I think I’ll stay away from that, and answer from my perspective as an ‘environmentalist’.  There are lots of issues of course – invasive species, climate change, urban sprawl, oil spills, water scarcity and quality - but for families I think one the biggest environmental issues is human health.

When you look at the whole picture, people are the main reason for the degradation of the natural world, and therefore our own health. I’m sure everyone can agree that we need air to breathe, water to drink, and food to eat.  At the same time we continue to pollute our air, our water, and our food.  I’m generalizing here but I think we can understand that anything negative we do to the environment has a direct and negative effect on our health. If we breathe polluted air, it is going to affect us. Recently many health professionals are beginning to draw the same conclusions. It’s a major problem with no easy solution.

CG: How can we educate our children about environmental issues?

Dan: I think instead of educating our children about the issues of today, we first need to foster in them an awareness of what nature is. Technology is getting in the way of this, and I’m sure most people by now have heard about Nature Deficit Disorder in children. Parents really need to be proactive here, and the best way to do that is to go outside with your children. Go hiking, camping, collect tadpoles, look at leaves, climb a tree. The simple of act of being outside with them will cultivate an interest in the outdoors, which is the first step.

As adults we really forget what it is like to be a child. The first thing I do when I’m talking to children about nature is to get down on their level. If we’re looking at a flower, we all crouch down and look at it together. This shows that you care and are interested. Just the other night I was with my daughter on our front yard, and I laid down in the grass – something I haven’t done in years – and it felt good.

An illustrated watershed, by Andrea Gauthier

After a child knows what a tree looks like, or a tadpole, what a certain type of flower smells like, etc. then we can start pointing out the issues I mentioned in the last question such as urban sprawl, or climate change. Their new background in nature will help them understand the challenges that lay ahead.

CG: What is a watershed? And how can families help conservationists in their efforts to protect them?

Dan: A watershed is an area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. Homes, farms, cottages, forests, small towns, big cities and more can make up watersheds. Some cross municipal, provincial and even international borders. They come in all shapes and sizes and can vary from millions of acres, like the land that drains into the Great Lakes, to a few acres that drain into a pond.  The best way to protect these watersheds is through awareness. Become active in showing your child nature, get out to a conservation area, and get to know your local conservation authority.

CG: Anything else you’d like to add?

Dan: I can’t stress enough about getting kids in to nature. I hardly see kids outside anymore. Even tobogganing seems to be a thing of the past. I mentioned Nature Deficit Disorder in children, but the reality is that it is prevalent in all ages. Video games, cell phones, computers, they are all great things, but we have to step away from time to time.  The only reason we have those things is because of nature.  If you look around you there is not one thing that did not come from the planet (unless you have a moon rock). And those things come at a cost to the environment.

I invite everyone to visit a Conservation Area.  Pack a picnic, and just be outside, even if its once a week. Ontario is home to some amazing places.

Dan Orr is the Communications Assistant for the Lower Trent Conservation.  He is trained in Ecosystem Management and Parks and Forest Recreation.  When not writing press releases, planning special events, or educating youth, he can be found between a computer and a forest.

Part One: Permaculture, Sustainability and Your Family: An interview with Permaculture Designer, Douglas Barnes

Part Three: The Family Table: How You Can Teach Your Kids About Sustainable Eating

Part Four: Empowering Your Child to Become a Hero

Bryna Jones is a writer, mother, blogger and humanitarian from Ontario, Canada. Formerly Creative Director for at a small branding company, she specializes in online communication and social media. She will soon begin her role as Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator for World Vision Canada. Follow her on Twitter @brynajones.

An interview with Permaculture Designer, Douglas Barnes

This is Part One of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

My first introduction to Douglas Barnes was a newspaper article describing his work in developing countries – setting up sustainable systems for community development. I immediately took note, and introduced myself via email. After seeing first hand, how important this work was in the third world, I knew this man was someone I had to connect with.

Douglas Barnes is a permaculture designer, consultant and teacher. He has designed and implemented permaculture systems in India, Japan ... Read More »]]>

An interview with Permaculture Designer, Douglas Barnes

This is Part One of a series of articles dedicated to teaching our children how to become global citizens.

My first introduction to Douglas Barnes was a newspaper article describing his work in developing countries – setting up sustainable systems for community development. I immediately took note, and introduced myself via email. After seeing first hand, how important this work was in the third world, I knew this man was someone I had to connect with.

Douglas Barnes is a permaculture designer, consultant and teacher. He has designed and implemented permaculture systems in India, Japan and Canada as well as consulting on projects in Australia. He has taught permaculture seminars in Japan and Canada. He holds two Permaculture Design Course certificates and is a direct student of the founder of the permaculture movement, Bill Mollison. Douglas has been active in permaculture since 2004, and has been an educator for 18 years.

I’m so happy that he agreed to share his passion for creating sustainable environments. Read on to learn how permaculture can positively impact your life, and help you to teach your children how to be global citizens through environmental awareness.

Chic Galleria: What is permaculture?

Douglas: Permaculture is a system for designing sustainable human environments. It’s essentially the design and creation of an ecosystem in which people can meet their needs for clean water, clean food, clean energy and other material and non-material needs such as housing, financing, work, etc. On first glance, many people think that permaculture is some sort of organic gardening method. That’s only one aspect, though. Organic gardening is like a tool, whereas permaculture is the tool chest holding the tool.

CG: What sort of projects do you tackle on a daily basis?

Douglas: My clients are usually people interested in having a low maintenance garden system designed and implemented in their yard – something that will require little or no maintenance. This would be where the design comes in. I wouldn’t garden either if it involved watering every day and putting in hours of weeding ever summer.  I’ve only done about 30 or 40 seconds of weeding in my garden so far this summer, and it really wasn’t necessary for me to go after the weeds I did. The bulk of the work in the garden is planting and harvesting.

Other clients have been interested in tackling their energy usage. A client in P.E.I contacted me about a century farmhouse they have that required 20 cords of wood to heat (they have an outdoor furnace that provides heat and hot water). I made a number of suggestions that they implemented themselves, taking them down to just 8 cords of wood a year.

For the past year, I have been very busy setting up a homestead for myself in Tweed. Though it is just my wife and I and whomever I can drag in to help, we are now putting the roof on our new passive solar home. The design makes the building largely self-heating and self-cooling, with additional heat coming from a very efficient masonry stove.

CG: Why should sustainability be important to families?

Douglas: Firstly, it’s important to understand what sustainability really means. The word is thrown around so much that it’s in danger of becoming meaningless. A system is sustainable if, over its lifetime, it is able to capture and store more energy than is required to create and maintain the system. For instance, if you have a squash seed and prepare a garden bed for it, plant it, and care for it, it will supply more food energy than was required to bring it into being. Modern industrial agriculture, on the other hand, requires an average of 10 calories of energy to produce and deliver one calorie of food energy, and more to prepare it. If you use the metaphor of dollars rather than calories, you quickly see that this is a temporary arrangement.

So given a clear definition of the word, its importance is immediately apparent: Sustainability means survivability. I don’t mean to sound alarmist here. We are not going to starve to death this year or next. However, “conventional” agriculture has only been around for the last 60 years and we’ve only been spending more calories than we’ve been producing since the mid-seventies. The problem is the scale we are doing it on. We now know that our energy supplies are reaching their maximum production rate; and we know that we are not discovering new sources to make up for our demand. We are also in the dilemma of being damned if we do find new sources. Look at what we’ve done to the planet in just 30 years time. Now imagine the mess we can make if we supply an increasing population with more and more polluting sources of energy. It won’t be too far into the future before we understand firsthand what a collapse of civilisation is like.

CG: What are some easy ways parents can teach their children about sustainability?

Douglas: Get them away from their computers for a few days in a natural environment where there is something fun to do like swimming or rock climbing. In other words, don’t make taking them into nature seem like going to a prison camp. Then take just half an hour and explain to them how plants grow. How they capture light from the sun and turn it into sugar. How the soil feeds them and how they feed the life in the soil with their sugars when they are alive and how the plants turn into soil when they die. Explain how the plants form relationships with fungi, sometimes even letting the fungal hyphae right into the cells of their roots, where the fungi and plants feed each other and help other plants of other species connected to the same fungi. Let them see how nothing is in isolation, everything is interdependent and thrives when it is interconnected.

And if that doesn’t work, send them to my farm for a few days.

CG: How can we make our homes more environmentally friendly without breaking the bank?

Douglas: Being environmentally friendly should be something that saves money rather than costing money. Sure, there is an initial outlay, but it should pay back over the medium to long term. Unfortunately, much of what goes on in the “green” industry is just trying to get people to buy more and more gadgets that aren’t really necessary.

Food is a pretty easy place to start. You may spend up to a few hundred dollars setting up a self-regulating garden, but it should provide you with at least the same dollar value in produce the first year. Every year after that is money in the bank. You will not be able to produce 100% of your food on site, but with an average back yard, you can take a large chunk out of the yearly grocery bill, while getting superior quality food at the same time.

Then look at energy. Where are you getting free energy (sunlight)? Is it possible to redirect that energy and get more? Can you do something to conserve more of the energy that you have by either insulating or using plants or trellises to block out harsh elements like cold winter winds or strong summer sunshine?

Is there a way to make the resources you have do more than one job? In my old apartment in Tokyo, for instance, we used to shunt the bath water into the washing machine when we were finished bathing. Similarly, our toilet had a faucet on top of the tank so that the water filling the toilet could be used to wash your hands. Greywater can be put to use, but it is important to understand greywater systems to avoid problems such as illness. Rainwater, however, is a resource that can easily be put to productive use with either a tank or barrels.

Finally, what is in your waste stream? What are you sending down the drain (that you will eventually wind up drinking later)? What are you sending to the landfill? The chances are that the more toxic things have replacements or are not really necessary.

None of this should be approached as a terrible chore, mind you. I am finding that the more sustainable I make my life, the more enjoyable it is. I’ve cut out things that I though made me happy but really didn’t; and I’ve been able to use my creativity in ways I never thought possible. Sustainable living is just great fun!

To contact Douglas Barnes, email him at dbarnes@ecoedge.ca or visit his website http://www.ecoedge.ca . For helpful tips and articles, see his blog http://permaculturetokyo.blogspot.com or follow on Facebook at http://bit.ly/EcoEdge-FB

Part Two: Introducing Your Kids to Conservation: An interview with Environmental Educator, Dan Orr

Part Three: The Family Table: How You Can Teach Your Kids About Sustainable Eating

Part Four: Empowering Your Child to Become a Hero

Bryna Jones is a writer, mother, blogger and humanitarian from Ontario, Canada. Formerly Creative Director for at a small branding company, she specializes in online communication and social media. She will soon begin her role as Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator for World Vision Canada. Follow her on Twitter @brynajones.

A Series for Empowering Families to Change the World

I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been struggling with certain issues as a parent – namely, feeling helpless in light of a complex world full of problems waiting to be solved. I say “problems” but in reality, there are global crises of such scope that I might never really be able to grasp their magnitude. I know I sound like I’m being overly dramatic, but unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case.

What really began this internal battle was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I’m in PR, and ... Read More »]]>

A Series for Empowering Families to Change the World

I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been struggling with certain issues as a parent – namely, feeling helpless in light of a complex world full of problems waiting to be solved. I say “problems” but in reality, there are global crises of such scope that I might never really be able to grasp their magnitude. I know I sound like I’m being overly dramatic, but unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case.

What really began this internal battle was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I’m in PR, and from a professional standpoint I began to follow the case with interest. How would BP handle this PR nightmare? I thought naively, “This is crisis management at its best.”

Although my intent was to look at the issue objectively,  I’ll never forget the moment that I saw PBS’ live feed of the oil gushing out at such an unimaginable rate that I almost started crying sitting at my desk. I was overcome with emotion. This is the world that I live in; a world where millions of barrels of oil kill people, and wreak havoc on our environment, every year.

The Gulf spill is just the tip of the iceberg. Incensed by what was happening, I began reading more, which lead me to other pieces of information on spills in Niger, and in the Middle East. It’s not often that I’m rendered speechless, but the tragedy of big oil is unfolding at such a rate, that I’m at a loss for words. What I encountered was a dilemma: I need oil to survive, despite its devastating effects, but I felt like I had blood on my hands every time I pumped gas.

I’m only one person. I’m not attempting to solve a global oil crisis here. I’m no expert. And that’s what I felt undone by. I buy products everyday that require oil to manufacture, I drive my car and I heat my house. In the immediate, there is very little I can do to stop those things completely. I’m not in the position to physically help with the oil spill clean-up. I started to feel really, really powerless.

So I asked myself a simple question: What did I have in my hands – what are my tools – to do what I can to make the world a better place? It sounds idealistic, but I truly believe that each of us has the power not to simply clean an oil spill, but to change the world in the ways that move us. And that’s why I’ve been talking a lot about me – so that I can talk about what this all means to you.

I began to think about the things that I could do in my life, and with my family as a whole, to create a world that’s healthy for all of us. As I started to research, I realized how easy it is to make small changes to normal routines, to empower families to tackle big issues. This isn’t just about the environment – it’s about social justice, poverty, your health and your children’s education. There’s a big world out there, and it needs your help.

What I’m going to do might seem small, but I’m hoping that with this amazing platform (thank you Chic Galleria) it will have a big impact. I’ve recruited some friends – experts in their fields – to help me to explain to you how you can educate your children about global issues; how you can take that knowledge and empower your family to act as global citizens; and how small actions can mean a world of good.

I’d love to hear from you along the way. What are you doing with your kids to positively impact your corner of the world? I’m glad that you’re along for the ride – just make sure you carpool or ride your bike!

Bryna Jones is a writer, mother, blogger and humanitarian from Ontario, Canada. Formerly Creative Director for at a small branding company, she specializes in online communication and social media. She will soon begin her role as Advocacy Campaigns Coordinator for World Vision Canada. Follow her on Twitter @brynajones.