Vincent Massey student undertakes eco adventure

For such an eco-friendly student, Erin Collins sure is logging a lot of miles this school year.

Whether on-board the CCGS Amundsen in the Arctic or on a trip with other Vincent Massey students to Sweden, her travel has been in the name of science.

Collins is part of the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program. The aim of the program is to help nurture environmental leadership in graduating Canadian high school students.

She is one of only 15 students from across Canada to receive a $5,000 scholarship through the program. More than 400 students applied to the program this year.

“I am absolutely honoured, but in particular I would like to thank my school because the opportunities that they have given me are phenomenal,” Collins said.

“They were responsible for all of the programs I have been in and really allowed me to reach my full potential.”

Jed Goldberg, president of Earth Day Canada, said he was impressed by the calibre of students involved in the program.

“These students are involved in an array of inspiring projects that are having significant impact on their communities. They are truly stepping forward as the environmental leaders of tomorrow,” Goldberg said.

One of the many projects Collins played a leadership role in this year was in organizing the Vincent Massey youth environmental conference, Sustainability: Awareness and Action.

The conference focused on the role of young people in environmental welfare. It was aimed at inspiring students through workshops, panel discussions and keynote presentations.

The centrepiece of the the conference was an Alternative Energy Array consisting of a small scale wind turbine, solar cells, a green roof and a greenhouse, which Collins helped raise over $20,000 to install.

“We really accomplished an amazing feat for a group of high school kids,” Collins said.

“We had students come to us afterwards and asked how they could start their own initiatives. It was kind of cool to see how that knowledge was passed on and to see other youth trying the same thing.”

The Vincent Massey Sustainable Development Committee, which includes Collins, is one of 14 school groups from around the world which will present their projects in the Volvo Adventure Competition May 8-14 in Sweden.

The trip will be a quick turnaround for Collins, who just returned from the ArcticNet Schools On-Board Expedition. During her time up north on a coast guard icebreaker, Collins visited northern communities and studied alongside some of the world’s leading environmental researchers.

The experience is one she says she will never forget. She hopes to make a return trip in the future through the NAZZAVIK program at the University of Manitoba.

“It is a wonderful program that allows students to go through northern communities and take aboard passengers and examine them for contaminant poisoning,” she said.

Collins plans to get her PhD in toxicology at university and will continue to raise awareness about the environment.

“It is quite scary to think that in the future the world might not be able to give others the life I’ve had and if we don’t clean up our act now we may potentially invoke permenant damage.”