Emily Menzies
Emily Menzies is currently working with the Ministry of Environment's new
Youth Climate Leadership Alliance as the the Climate Action Facilitator
for the Capital Regional District. She is one of ten individuals
throughout the province who work in local government offices as
facilitators between local government and communities to promote climate change initiatives in the respective local government jurisdictions.
Emily's passion for the past 14 years and counting is to create and
support hands-on experiential learning opportunities for youth to build
awareness, community and leadership skills for ecological justice and
social sustainability. Through co-creating and developing a wide variety
of many successful by-youth, for-youth programs, projects, networks and
organizations, she knows the value of sustainability education and youth
leadership first hand. With an in-depth range of hands-on experience,
academic studies and investigative travel, she has been developing her
leadership skills in group facilitation, event coordination, program
development and youth engagement since a teen herself.
Emily worked her way from 13 year old participant to youth mentor to
program staff through twelve programs of the groundbreaking and
inspirational youth environmental organization Leadership Initiative For
Earth (LIFE). Best known for its week-long LIFEboat Flotilla, an annual
voyage of 15 sailboats and 200 BC youth participating in diverse,
interactive workshops throughout the Gulf Islands, LIFE embodied
sustainability education at its best.
Since then she has been a leading youth member of Turning Point, a
installation arts-based group deconstructing the image of young women in
the media, was the Under-19 BC representative on the Sierra Youth
Coalition's Executive Committee, helped found Check Your Head: the Youth
Global Education Network, was one of twelve youth across Canada awarded a
position in Environment Canada's Polaris Network, and was a finalist for
TD Canada Trust's Scholarship for Community Leadership. Emily has been
putting her knowledge about sustainable community development and climate
change gained through her BA at UBC in International Relations and
Geography as well as her travels in Central America, Europe and Oceania to
use through fostering ecologically-sustainable development among one of
Canada's most marginalized groups of people: youth!
From 2005-2008, she worked with the Sierra Youth Coalition and Sierra
Club BC Chapter to support youth in organizing annual week long
sustainability leadership camps and in building the "Sustainable High
Schools Project." This curriculum linked, comprehensive initiative
provides students with the tools, skills and connections to work with
their peers, teachers, administration and other members of their high
school communities to assess and improve their schools' level of
ecological and social well-being.
Emily is excited about continuing to expand her role in facilitating
youth-driven climate education and action in the Greater Victoria region
with the Youth Climate Leadership Alliance!
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