"The Whole World is Watching You"

My hands trembled, my knees shook, a sweat broke out on my forehead...I was in the middle of pitching the idea for the recycling project to the high school environmental class when I realized that the half of the students weren't really listening to me. I thought, "If I, with all of my youthful enthusiasm, can't motivate these students, who can?" As I rattled off information about how human health is affected by burning waste, I thought, "What can I say to make these students care?"

"I don't know if you're aware of this," I said, "but the whole world is watching you right now."

The students stopped what they were doing and turned to look my way with questioning eyes.

"You are the ones who are going to experience climate change first. What happens in the North will show the rest of the world what is going to happen to them. Everyone is watching you to see what is happening. That's why this project is so important. You have the opportunity to set an example for the rest of the world, to show them how much you want to preserve this land and your community."

I hooked them. The students said they wanted to do the project, and I am hoping that each of them will find a way to utilize their talents to make it happen. For those of you who are new to this blog, let me explain: The town of Cambridge Bay does not have a recycling program, so all of its waste is burned at a dump. A few high school students said they wanted to start a recycling program for the town, so I volunteered to facilitate the project, which will include a video proposal to the mayor and hamlet council. The entire initiative will be carried out by students; the only thing I will do is look up funding opportunities, organize a field trip to the dump and ensure that the students are on task. If this project succeeds, Cambridge Bay will not only become a healthier place to live, it will set an example for other northern communities. I am so excited!

The 4th grade class came to the library today to finish up their mittens and read

The mural is finally completed and it is beautiful! Here's a look at the finished product:

All of the people in this mural are or were members of the Cambridge Bay community. The mural also includes pictures of tools which are important to Inuit culture.

I rented a Tae Bo video last week from the library and upon discovering a weird 80s movie had been taped over it, went running today instead. Let me tell you, going running in the Arctic is quite an experience! I managed not to slip too much and keep myself warm, but decided afterwards that I would go ahead and splurge on a gym membership. : )