GHS Young Leaders aim to reduce impact of climate change

The Young Leaders of St Vincent Girls’ High School (GHS) are of the view that if they are contributors to the problem of climate change, then they can also be the solution.{{more}}

The GHS Young Leaders, on Friday, January 27, officially launched their project for the 2012 edition of the RBTT Young Leaders competition under the theme “Our World, Our Climate, Our Problem, Our Solution.”

Delivering the Kingstown address at the launch, environmental consultant Lystra Culzac informed the students that “climate change is the single most important long term issue that we have to face as a global community.”

Culzac told the Young Leaders that the launch of their programme is a special occasion as it seeks to create an awareness among Vincentians about climate change.

“We’ve heard a lot about climate change and we’ve seen it on television, and most of us are familiar with the news on climate change, but are we familiar with the issues related to St Vincent and the Grenadines?” she asked.

The former GHS student also told the Young Leaders that they have been given the information concerning climate change and now it’s time for them to pass it on to their peers and the rest of the world.

“I like your theme very much. I personalize the issue of climate change. It makes each and every one of us here responsible for climate change.

We are the contributors of climate change, then we can be the solution to the climate change,” Culzac stated.

Meanwhile, Tamara Job-Sprott, Communications Officer for VINLEC, the Young Leaders’ major sponsor, expressed pleasure on behalf of her company at being associated with the programme.

She stated that the Young Leaders will help VINLEC in their own campaign to encourage Vincentians to reduce the amount of energy used on a daily basis, which in turn will assist with reducing the impact of climate change on the country.

Niasha Mofford, outlining the GHS Young Leaders’ vision for 2012, said the group’s objective is to make the world a better place by starting within the school and covering as many areas as possible.

“As Young Leaders, our initiative is to bring the wider communities together in order to strengthen the natural and physical environment to ensure that we can withstand climate change.”

Other speakers at last Friday’s launch included the GHS Headmistress Andrea Bowman and representative from the Forestry Department, Fitzgerald Providence.

The launch also saw a number of musical renditions from the Young Leaders. Trizanna Atkins and Kelsie Haynes performed the late Pop star Michael Jackson’s hit ‘Heal the World’, while the Young Leaders groups performed an original song of their own, ‘Voices for Climate Change.”

There was a dramatic presentation which featured members of the Young Leaders, Nikelene Mclean, Zinzi Williams, Mylecia Williams, Twanie Fergus and Solange Fernandez. The presentation was done in a classroom setting, in which the students interacted with their teacher on the topic of Climate Change.

The high point of last Friday’s launch was a fashion show by the Young Leaders around the school yard. The fashion show featured clothing made from newspapers and plastics bags.(AA)