These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity.
Graeme Hopkins is passionate about immersing young people in nature. This 20-year-old from Saskatchewan takes groups of youth, aged 13 to 18, into wild spaces in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In his hometown of Saskatoon, he runs a free outdoor club for new Canadian children. His book, Prehistoric Saskatoon, is accessible to all ages and available through the Saskatoon Public Library. He is a 2024 recipient of the Youth Climate Activism Award from the Institute for Sustainabiltiy, Education and Action.
Tell us about the weekend experiences.
Ocean Wise funding allowed me to host the first Youth Environmental Leadership Summit at Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert Park, Saskatchewan, and another near Pinawa, Manitoba, in 2024. That year Volunteer Alberta also helped me take another group to the Barrier Lake biological research station near Kananaskis. Participants learn from experts on topics, like biodiversity, beach cleanups and microplastics, and enjoy hiking, water-quality testing, canoeing or other outdoor activities, and are encouraged to start their own projects. I plan to offer more this year.
The participants are often deeply affected. For example, when they put a bucket into the lake and pull out some of its aquatic life, they are amazed at what lies out of sight. Their sense of time is changed as they handle fossils. They might see a live deer or a herd of elk close up, which allows a different view of reality than watching a screen.
Their subsequent emails telling me about starting sustainability clubs or organizing beach clean-ups are very rewarding!
What do you offer the young new Canadians?
In December 2023, I started the Saskatoon Newcomer Youth Outdoor Adventure Club in collaboration with the Saskatoon Open Door Society, providing free, fun activities like tobogganing, kayaking and sleigh rides. We work to understand and remove barriers to participation so these kids can experience the wonder of the Canadian outdoors.
Tell us about your book.
I wrote Prehistoric Saskatoon for elementary school children. It has been out for a while and is still in circulation. I am aware of its interest to a general audience. I tried to make it easy for people to feel a connection to the animals and plants that came before us.
How did you get involved in these projects?
I live with autism. My parents and my elementary school gave me free reign to learn about my singular interest in dinosaurs across the curriculum, from art to math and essay writing, and my self-confidence was nurtured. I loved being immersed in the alternative reality presented by the dinosaur diorama at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Although I was an enthusiastic member of my school’s environmental club, I often felt isolated. I found solace in long walks along Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, observing the animals and plants I saw around me. In Grade 9, I attended Ontario Nature’s Youth Summit for Environmental Leadership and found a passion for environmental advocacy. I realized that nature was my support when I needed it most.
I seek to invite children to see nature as their friend and a source of wonder. These projects offer a chance to step into a different way of being in the world and tell a different story about who they are.
What makes it hard?
I must be a travel agent, event coordinator, teacher, program manager, facilitator, safety guardian, coach, advisor and sometimes, a shoulder to cry on. I work with children, their parents and the people who run the venues and come as guest speakers. I have to work especially hard to understand diverse points of view and stay aware of my own perspectives.
The people I meet are generous and kind. Helping children see themselves in the natural world is definitely worth the effort.
What keeps you awake at night?
Excitement! Every day brings new possibilities.
What gives you hope?
I have proved that I see challenges as possibilities, and I am helping others to do that, too. Hopelessness is not a moral option. Hope is a survival skill.
What would you like to say to other young people?
The things you need to learn are best learned by doing. Go. Do the thing you want to do even if you are unsure of the path or the outcome. Having fun makes it sustainable.
What about older readers?
The best gift you can give a young person is to support their dreams. Perhaps we do sometimes seem brash or arrogant. Forgive us, model humility and support us anyway. And help us to have fun. In an age of “eco-grief” and “climate anxiety,” particularly amongst youth, joy can be hard to find.
I see many organizations and leaders devaluing “fun,” whether that is by defunding programs for youth engagement or experiential learning or by concentrating all resources on more concrete projects. If we can continue to have fun, our Earth will always be safe.
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