Think Globally Act Locally | The Power Of R

It’s always a great pleasure to meet like minded people who are passionate about what they do. Great things come from these types of people and there is one of them in each of us waiting to get out and play. These last couple of weeks I have had the great pleasure of accompanying Keith and Renee representing Free The Children from MeToWe to participate in a series of performances and leadership workshops in schools around Central Vancouver Island. The experience united like minded youth around the pressing issues of our world. Some of those issues, like the environment, obviously played a major role in our discussions so I gladly joined in.

The environment is connected to every global issue: poverty, violence, economy, human rights, animal rights and disease to name a few. These connections were brought to light by the students themselves in each school workshop. By the end of each day, groups of active students were beginning to understand deeper, act more decisively, and speak with more passion. The real power of understanding and education is in the decision to act effectively. The students who attended the MeToWe camps with The Power Of R made decisions that day to change their environment, starting with their schools, their communities and ultimately their planet.

I joined the tour with Keith and Renee to visit Highland Secondary, Southgate, and Mark R. Isfeld. In every school there were different outcomes but I watched several kids find their voice for the first time. A grade 8 girl spoke out about the environment, then animal rights and then homelessness and then found out there were others like her in the room. I spoke with her after the session and she had been recruited to the Interact club by some grade 12s and the Eco-Team by some grade 11’s. Sweet Tofurky, that’s awesome! There were several similar stories like that.  A grade 11 youth from Germany on exchange exclaimed how appalled he was when he arrived in Canada to see people watering their lawns. “You would be called an eco-terrorist crazy person if you did that in Germany,” he said.  “People have gardens but they certainly don’t water their grass. That’s just a waste of water.” I couldn’t help but pump my fist and bight my bottom lip with in a silent over exuberance.

Since these workshops took place environment clubs have been popping up at each of the schools we visited. I received a great email from Carihi High, an additional school that Keith and Renee visited. The email stated that they wanted to start a more extensive composting program at their school because Highland had one. “Perfect, let’s start a battery collection, recycling and education series for the school while we’re at it.” This is how action happens and the only words I can think of are “this is juicy!” Needless to say the ball is rolling fast thanks to these workshops.

Keith and Renee flew back to their home town of Winnipeg for a short break in their 80 school MeToWe Tour. They will continue to play guitar around the world and use music to create dynamic connections with their audience. They’re funny and talented. It’s cool to see people doing what they love to do because after talking to them it is hard to imagine them doing anything else. There is a lesson in that for all of us. Saving the planet sounds cliché but it’s what I love to do. The planet needs saving so let’s work together, PowerOfR, MeToWe, you, me, and one little planet. For more information in getting your school involved with The Power Of R email powerofr@gmail.com