by Gordon Pictou, Program Director ~GHC & Mi‘kmaq Museum

If all the world consumed the resources per capita that Canadians do we would need 8 Earths to satiate our way of life. The GHC’s Earth Day event aimed to help students realize the impact that seemingly small changes in their lifestyles would make a large difference going forward. Every reduction in consumption a person makes has a number of multipliers that contribute to huge savings and dramatic increases in the productivity and health of our communities. As individuals when we make simple lifestyle changes like reducing shower time by a minute, using travel mugs instead of throwaway cups, switching to cold water washing or replacing energy guzzling lightbulbs in favour of cfl’s; the savings in energy, waste, and freshwater is multiplied everyday they are alive. It is also multiplied in that they are leaders in their families and their communities and over time will influence those around them to make the changes they have. There are 6.9 billion people on earth and thus we ought to be thinking “what if everyone made the same choices I do?” Seemingly small savings multiplied by a factor of 6.9 billion is huge.

Elder Albert Marshall travelled from Eskasoni to deliver his keynote address to a packed house as over 350 students from all over the region piled into the GHC for this year’s celebration. Mr. Marshall’s inspiring message was that all of us have unique gifts and that all of us need to work together for the future we will share. He said that throug ...

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