The Kids Get It
For Our Kids- Burnaby
THE WE-CAN IMPACT STORIES-15
By Tara Joan Nyhan, WE-CAN Volunteer. All images provided by Kate McMahon
There’s something to be said for the networking benefits of having children. Kids make friends as easily as we tie our shoes, then their friends’ parents become your mutual acquaintances, and very quickly the whole neighbourhood opens up to you. Even if it doesn’t happen like this, there are well-established structures in most communities to make sure it does. However, kids don’t bring people together because they want to, or even because their parents want to; simply in the act of being kids, they invite an intense amount of care from anyone who dares get too close. And the ability to care, loudly and unapologetically, is something every climate initiative is born from. For Our Kids is a prime example of this phenomenon, and their branch in Burnaby is who we’ll be spotlighting today.
Many people have the luxury of being able to forget the fact that children born in this decade will be growing up in crisis. For parents like For Our Kids Burnaby’s Kate McMahon, it’s a fact that defines their world; “Having kids, you have to be optimistic. I need to know that the world is going to be okay for them, and I’m doing my part to help get us there.”
For Our Kids as a whole was founded by Matt Price in 2019 (you can read his heartening statement here) who was motivated to do so after witnessing the impact of the 2019 forest fires. I believe many readers will remember that summer, and the feeling of seeing a red sun over our neighbourhoods for the first time. For Our Kids was born out of that experience, and today they have over 5000 members across Canada, with 7 branches in BC, including Burnaby, so some good came of it.
Kate joined For Our Kids in 2022, when she decided she wanted a bigger role in the protection of the environment her two kids would grow up in. The first action the Burnaby branch took was to support an initiative by local organization Force of Nature, to present the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation treaty to the city of Burnaby. After Force of Nature called on the city with the gathered support of the local community, the newly founded Burnaby Branch of For Our Kids held a kid-friendly rally outside city hall. Burnaby signed onto the treaty very shortly after that, marking the beginning of the branch with a major success. As Kate states, “That was our first rally, and from that we really hit the momentum.”
After that win, For Our Kids Burnaby continued to hold family friendly rallies. Many people view protests as overstimulating, crowded, and carrying some amount of risk. For Our Kids Burnaby is making the effort to change this. “We try to create a space that’s friendly and welcoming for families,” Kate states, “we always have snacks, we have water, and we have activities for the kids.” While continuing to collaborate with Force Of Nature on civic initiatives (like the implementation of a Zero Carbon Step Code), the Burnaby Branch has also made their own space where kids can learn how to lead their own. It’s called the Kids Climate Club. The Club introduces kids to the ideas behind activism, starting with what they value about where they live, and going onto how they can protect it. Attendees learn about different kinds of campaign strategies, and are given the opportunity to implement them, such as in supporting the Sue Big Oil letter-writing Campaign.
(For those who don’t know, Sue Big Oil is a BC initiative working to, as its name suggests, make Big Oil companies pay for the damage they’ve caused, instead of letting the costs fall on taxpayers. If you’re subscribed to WE-CAN’s newsletter then this should be right up your alley.)By committing $1 per resident towards the campaign, municipalities can help claim funding for future damages. After the efforts of For Our Kids Burnaby, and 40 handwritten letters from the Kids Climate Club, the City of Burnaby voted 8-1 to endorse the Sue Big Oil initiative, making it to date the biggest city to do so.
One could question the motive behind a kids letter writing campaign, especially about something as serious as a class action lawsuit. How do these kids know what to say? Are they just writing what their parents tell them to?
The answer is simple. As Kate states, “It’s about fairness, and kids know more about fairness than anybody; If you make a mess, you clean it up. (…) They’re able to draw the connections everybody else sorta makes too many excuses about: “Oh we couldn’t possibly, it’s too expensive it’s never going to work,” but the kids get it.”
The main thing to understand about For Our Kids Burnaby is that it enriches families lives as much as it engages them in climate action. Not every parent member is there for activism, but they are there to build community. “We do a lot of art builds, we do garbage clean ups, we do planting events, invasive species pulls,” says Kate, “things that really get kids involved, and then the parents come along.” Every parent can get behind a project that engages their child in communal stewardship. Like, for example, the Burnaby Stream Keepers program.
Burnaby’s Stream Keepers are local community volunteer organizations that maintain parts of Burnaby’s rich waterways. Burnaby has two sizable lakes that shoot off into multiple creeks and streams, chock full of the wildlife Vancouver is known for. One of the bigger ones, Beecher Creek, is situated between two schools, and the honor of maintaining it has been taken up by For Our Kids Burnaby, after Stream Keeper of 30 years Jim Atwater stepped down. Their first Stream Keeping event was held this May, where families came together to learn about Stream Keeping from Jim and start the clean-up. “We had fifty people come out to help pull invasive species,” states Kate. “This is something I think we’re going to be doing for years to come.”
Projects like Beecher Creek represent more of what For Our Kids Burnaby is looking to do in the future – communal projects that instill long term stewardship at all levels of community.
I must emphasize that the activities and initiatives brought up so far are only a fraction of what For Our Kids Burnaby does. One of my favourite ongoing initiatives is their Mending Circles. It’s like a book club, but instead of reading, you’re repairing, and instead of books, it’s damaged clothes, and instead of talking about your favourite characters, you’re learning about sustainable fashion. Parents of all skill levels come to mend while their kids come to play together. “Some of the kids are interested and pick it up, some are just there for the snacks.”
For Our Kids Burnaby is a great model for what family involvement in activism can look like. As we all know, the Climate Crisis is a very scary thing and caregivers who hide it from their children are justified. For Our Kids Burnaby knows this; as Kate puts it, “It’s a fine line to walk to understand the importance of this and what it’s happening, without ruining their rosy view of the world.”
From what evidence is there, For Our Kids Burnaby seems to walk that line steadfastly and with balance. By teaching kids from a mindset that prioritizes stewardship and solutions, enriching their community, and genuinely having fun, they’re creating a safe place for kids to understand the current crisis they are stepping into, while still getting to be kids. These kinds of spaces foster both action and empowerment, giving kids the tools they need to combat climate anxiety. “The future is uncertain, and these communities are going to be important no matter how you look at it.”
Everyone knows the story of the mother lifting a car to save her baby. The Climate Crisis is the biggest car the world has ever seen, and it is slowly but surely falling on all our babies.
Parent-based activist organizations remind us why we do what we do. The resurgence of them over the past few years (partially sparked by Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speeches) reflects what societally we are lacking: care. As we’ve established, the presence of children inherently invites care, the need for hope, and by proxy, hope itself. “You realize how much people in the community care and want to help out with these things.”
There has never been a worse time to be optimistic. There also has never been a better time to be resolute and determined. Choosing to cultivate community on purpose, be it with your children, your friends, your family, or your children’s friend’s family, is the bravest thing anybody can do right now, and we’re at the point where we need it the most. It can be as easy as planning a birthday party.
For Our Kids’ expedient and organic growth is a testament to the steadfastness, the perseverance, and the love behind it. If you’re a caregiver, I can only recommend that you follow their lead. Reach out to fellow caregivers about your climate anxiety, practice stewardship with your children, embrace Climate Action as a communal activity, and make sure your kids have fun while you do it. This car’s not going to lift itself.
