The non-profit organization 3% Project has completed their goal to mobilize one million students (3% of the population of Canada) on climate change. For the past three years, they have been visiting schools Canada-wide to educate students on climate change, climate solutions and empower them to take action on climate!
The founder of 3% Project, Steve Lee, is only 27 and yet has accomplished much in his young life. He is a climate change activist and a policy advocate to the United Nations. Steve has spoken at a G8 Summit, NATO, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank. Read more about Steve Lee here.
Photo by William Iven on Unsplash
Excerpt from "3% Project’s Opportunity Report 22 Ideas for a Sustainable Future" written by Steve Lee
My Journey with 3% Project
Between 2017 and 2019, I have listened to 100,000+ students, drove 160,000+ km to 500+ schools in 400+ towns, and helped students undertake 100+ local projects. I visited every province and territory, mostly in rural communities from Ahousat, BC to Tuktoyaktuk, NT to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL.
I returned from my three-year living-onthe-road lifestyle for Christmas in 2019, and the world turned upside down with the COVID-19 pandemic. I have since been living the polar opposite lifestyle indoors. I was unexpectedly blessed to reflect on the highly unusual three years.
Ideas Inspired by Conversations
Over a hundred ideas were shared and developed in my conversations with tens of thousands of Canadians in hundreds of communities thinly scattered over thousands of kilometres bordered by three oceans. I felt an obligation to see their visions come to fruition, which is why I’m publishing some of those ideas to find life in you and your work.
Students inspired each of the 22 ideas. When one student would bring up an interesting idea, I turned the focus group discussion into a brainstorming session. Then I took the outcome to the next school and asked what they think.
I talked to anyone willing to speak to me: students, teachers, principals, parents, farmers, ranchers, fishers, miners, foresters, elders, hunters, healthcare workers, drillers, and small business owners. Canadians generously shared their stories, thoughts, and wisdom at restaurants, gas stations, kitchens, coffee shops, grocery stores, work camps, interpretive centres, elder homes, Airbnbs, and motels. These conversations formed the basis of the ideas.