Breaking Barriers & Empowering Youth Through Conservation – Pay It Forward for the Planet

The Cause

Pay it Forward for the Planet is a community-focused program that connects youth to conservation while allowing them to participate in a field trip.

Alberta's education budget is the lowest in Canada, and has been so over multiple years. Increasing economic pressures and climate anxiety have been brought to the front of Albertan youth's minds, causing growing concerns, fear, and anxiety about the future the world holds, and if anything will be left for them. Our program ignites a movement of youth-led initiatives that protect our planet, reduce financial barriers, and empower students—one project at a time.

Our program provides students a chance to create and complete a conservation project in exchange for a subsidy to visit the zoo, incentivizing engagement and awareness about environmental issues and providing hands-on conservation experience. This helps alleviate financial barriers while encouraging students to take meaningful action for the planet, empowering them to be the change.

Our program has already been successful in over two school years of operation, some highlights of Pay it Forward Student's impact are:

• Installation of bat box at a community center
• 11 new school-wide recycling programs
• 25 trees planted
• 4 new pollinator-friendly gardens
• 5 research projects on how to support endangered species
• 1 research project on their school's environmental impact, and how they can reduce it.
• 1 school-wide composting project
• Engaged 1113 students, who may not have had the chance to enjoy a field trip otherwise.

To complement these important projects, students attend one of the Edmonton Valley Zoo’s education programs connected to their curriculum and grade, adding another hands-on learning opportunity they may not have otherwise been afforded. Each of these below programs has a tie-in to conservation efforts, near and far, while remaining a fun and novel learning opportunity that students remember.

• Animal Senses
• Animals Around the World
• Fur, Feathers and Scales
• Night Creatures
• Animal Appetites
• Animal Movers & Shakers
• Winter Animal Adaptations
• Endangered Species

Who Will it Benefit?

Our program directly benefits multiple parties;

Students, parents and educators:

All three of these parties are seeing increased costs associated with education. Alberta has the lowest spend on education in Canada over multiple years. Growing class sizes and decreased operational budgets increase strain on parents' pocketbooks and school budgets, leaving little room for hands-on novel learning opportunities like field trips.
For the students, however, it’s helping them learn they can be the change. As the climate crisis becomes more apparent, so does climate anxiety. Students are worried about the world they will soon inherit and if any it will be left for them. Empowerment is a driver of change. We believe the confidence students feel after getting hands-on with conservation and learning about the change they can make is vital.

We also believe that students deserve to have the exciting and memorable experience of going on a zoo field trip, regardless of their ability to afford it. Many Pay-it-Forward recipient teachers have reported that their students would not have otherwise been able to attend a trip to the zoo; for many, it was their first field trip ever.

One teacher from Alex Janvier School said:
"It is with deep gratitude that, on behalf of my students, I thank the supporters of the Pay It Forward [for the Planet]
program, without whom we would not have been able to visit the zoo. Although worthy, without the impetus of
the program, it is unlikely that we would have independently participated in a conservation program within our
school community. "

The Environment:

With 47 projects completed over two years, and an increase in applications, the environmental impact will grow exponentially. The students who engage in their trip and the project have been given the tools to continue being the change, and newfound hope they take with them as they move through the education system and grow into adults. As mentioned earlier the projects completed have been amazing, including tree planting, pollinator gardens, bat boxes, and many new school-wide recycling system implementations, across 47 classes, over 1000 students and families, and multiple communities.