12th Season of Point Amour Lighthouse Youth Program
QLF’s Youth Leadership Program builds on a 65-year legacy of collaboration, partnership, and friendship with the International Grenfell Association (IGA) with well over a decade of funding for our environmental education initiatives such as this. QLF is fortunate to have the IGA’s leadership support over many years. This year’s program is once again directed by Dr. Kathleen Blanchard, QLF Senior Conservation Advisor, with Curriculum Director, Elli Gurguliatos.
While activities are held in the “Grenfell” communities of Southern Labrador and the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, the program’s signature location is the Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site overlooking the Strait of Belle Isle. Led by experienced instructors from QLF and partnering organization Intervale (based in the Codroy Valley of Newfoundland), youth identify numerous species of seabirds and whales that migrate through the Strait of Belle Isle and discuss ways to conserve biodiversity in this region. Through Biodiversity Conservation Education, youth learn of the complexity and impact of climate change on species migration, marine mammals, and marine ecosystems deeply impacted by marine debris and plastic pollution. Equipped with knowledge, they already hold great promise as emerging leaders, naturalists, and citizen scientists.
For Jack Drover, who has attended the program for 12 years, it’s been a journey he values. Eager to learn about Atlantic Salmon, at an early age he learned to cast and to tie salmon flies. As a program participant, he helped other youth develop fly-tying skills until eventually he became an instructor for the program. Now 18 years of age, he is entering Memorial University with the expectation his studies will lead eventually to a career in environmental law.
The positive impact this program is making on youth, of which Jack is but one example, is one of the main objectives of the IGA, whose support for youth environmental education is approaching mid-way into its second year of funding. Over the past few years, Elli Gurguliatos has established lessons that address topics most relevant to local communities in the Labrador Straits. Elli is proud of the program’s impact on participants and impressed by their immediate grasp and understanding, for instance, of the impact on bird migration in a time of accelerated change.
The opportunity to meet people is certainly a factor in youth retention, even for a veteran like Jack. This summer, Jack assisted in teaching an advanced lesson on Atlantic salmon with Riley Mollon, a knowledgeable instructor from Intervale and a passionate salmon angler. When evening came, they headed out to some of Jack’s favorite fishing pools on the Forteau River where shared adventures build and renew lasting friendships.
The IGA’s long-term funding for youth environmental education and leadership training is strengthened by additional support from several organizations that share the commitment to youth programs designed to increase knowledge, skills, and the capacity to address complex environmental issues facing local communities. With the objective of reaching larger audiences, Elli traveled to schools and communities of the Great Northern Peninsula. With each stop, she delivered presentations and activities on wildlife and marine species at risk to youth and families.
This summer’s workshops reached more than 150 youth at White Hills Academy and 47 youth at the Boys and Girls Club in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, both of which serve multiple communities in the “Grenfell” region. Beyond the outreach to youth in schools and organizations, and as intended, the program’s outreach expanded to generations of residents of Main Brook, Newfoundland, where Elli organized and presented a Wildlife Display for the July 1st Canada Day Celebration. Elli recalls memorable exchanges with youth and friends at the Celebration. As a takeaway and as with many QLF programs, sharing knowledge and experience, and enthusiasm and hope with next generation leaders is affirming for their future, their community, and their region.
The Youth Environmental Leadership Program is a program of the Quebec-Labrador Foundation in partnership with Intervale Associates. Supporting organizations include the International Grenfell Association, Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site, Birds Canada, Community Youth Network of the Labrador Straits, Wildlife Habitat Canada, and the Lions Club of Forteau.