The Muskoka Climate Youth Advisory Council and the District of Muskoka will host the first-ever Muskoka Youth Eco Fest on June 7 at Memorial Park in Bracebridge.
The event is organized by the Climate Youth Advisory Council, which is made up of seven youth from across Muskoka who work alongside the District of Muskoka’s watershed department.
Lauren Saville, the District’s community climate initiatives coordinator, said the event, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., was created to engage the Muskoka community, especially families and children, in learning more about the environment and how they can take action to help protect it.
She said with the event, the council is focused on engaging younger children so they can develop a connection to the environment early on and grow up with a lasting interest in protecting and sustaining it.
“We thought about lots of ideas, but what they always kept coming back to was engaging younger kids because they feel like their teenage peers are really not engaged in caring about the environment or caring about climate change,” she said.
According to Saville, the event will also give residents and visitors a chance to learn more about Muskoka’s unique environment, what the district and local organizations are doing to protect it, and steps individuals can take to reduce their environmental impact and help make Muskoka more sustainable for future generations.
Saville said some of the District’s existing initiatives to protect the environment include supporting the installation of public EV chargers in Bracebridge, with additional chargers planned for Huntsville, completing energy-efficiency retrofits in community housing buildings, transitioning the fleet to hybrid vehicles, and installing EV chargers at 70 Pine Street for corporate and public use.
Additionally, she said they deliver climate change outreach events and workshops in schools and libraries, as well as through the Muskoka Climate Youth Advisory Council.
Saville said the event includes a variety of activities, such as a make-your-own bird feeder station, a clothing swap, guest speakers discussing the Ash program and forest protection, and an animal meet-and-greet hosted by Scales Nature Park. The event is free, open to all ages, and everyone is welcome to attend.
