Parker Morrison
2023 Youth Climate Activism Essay Entry
Since 2021, I have been involved in Westsyde Secondaryβs Climate Action Club, where we strive to educate our community about climate change and sustainability and help our school become a climate-friendly place. This has involved volunteering for multiple Kamloops Film Festival Sustainability Nights, advocating and applying to become a UNESCO school, organizing Earth Weeks at Westsyde Secondary School to promote sustainability in the community, and, most recently, the βRestoring Our Riverbanksβ project. Last fall, a presentation by the Pacific Salmon Foundationβs Vice President, Jason Hwang, about riparian restoration projects made me think of Centennial Park, a neighbourhood multi-use wilderness area. I approached Mr. Hwang about ecological and safety issues, then formed a riverbank restoration plan.
In 1972, a flood broke the dike along the North Thompson River by Oak Hills and flooded many houses, forcing hundreds of families to evacuate immediately. Since then, a new dike has been built. However, the silty riverbank itself has not been improved, and extreme erosion is present near park paths and by the dozens of rusty cars that were used as backfill not long after the crisis, which is focused in an approximate 620ft area. Riprap in place near homes has only caused further erosion downstream and a change in river patterns. The rusty cars pose not only a hazard for children, swimmers, and pets but also degrade the habitat for wildlife, including native salmon. In 2020, people in the Westsyde community tried fixing this issue by going to the City, but the City claimed that it was out of their jurisdiction, and abdication of responsibility from the City and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada had caused a stalemate in any form of progress. As I researched further into the overall issue of riparian habitats, I noticed that rivers in the Thompson/Okanagan area have been neglected due to surges in extreme wildfires over the past decade. The seasonal forest fires are both urgent and devastating and they demand the immediate attention of government agencies, industry, and the public. Riverbank habitats are also seriously degraded by deforestation and erosion, but the equally serious damage to waterways does not create a similar sense of public urgency.
My βRestoring Our Riverbanksβ project outlines ways to remove safety hazards and stop riverbank erosion in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way using low-tech riparian restoration. This will provide a thriving habitat for local wildlife such as birds and salmon and a safer beach for the community. Iβm collaborating with the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, TkβemlΓΊps, and local engineering firms to create a $100,000-$150,000 budget. I have organized several school fundraisers so far, and I am writing grant applications for municipal, provincial, and federal funding to cover the expenses of this 2-year project. I have had meetings with the City of Kamloops to discuss further collaboration on this project. The removal of the cars and implementation of a low-tech riparian restoration system is set to happen this fall.
PARKER IN THE NEWSβ¦
Parker Morrison is leading her communityβs efforts in Kamloops, B.C., to get rusted cars out of a bank on the Thompson River.
βI was curious about the cars. In 2023, I researched how they got there and how to get them sustainably removed as my Grade 12 capstone project. Fixing it seemed relatively simple but no one was doing it. One day, I just decided if not me, then who?β
As part of the submissions application we asked participants to answer these 3 questions in addition to their essay or video.
What future goals do you have around your environmental and climate work, and do you have any future projects in mind?
Within my community, I will be visiting local elementary schools with select Westsyde Secondary Climate Action Club members in June 2023 to teach young students about the Earth, climate change, and how to be environmentally conscious. Once the "Restoring Our Riverbanks" project is completed, I hope to continue working on sustainable restoration and conservation projects and promote climate-conscious methods to restore areas in British Columbia where our natural ecology has been damaged and neglected. This includes fixing similar issues further along the North Thompson River as well as in the Fraser Valley. However, I would like to expand my horizons and work to restore forests in the near future as well. By attending UVIC for a Bachelor of Science this fall, I hope to learn more about our climate, our world, and how humanity can combat climate change.
If you could share with us one message of hope for our planet, what would it be?
No matter how difficult and challenging a climate crisis may be, it only takes one person, one event, to become a catalyst for change so much bigger than themselves. The ripple effect of community action and care cannot be called anything but extraordinary.
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
My love for climate activism and protecting our ecology has come from being personally affected by extreme seasonal wildfires and floods. I have always wondered what someone could do to prevent these climate crises from occurring, especially after having to evacuate for fires in Kamloops as well as experiencing my family in Merritt being evacuated from floods. After joining my school's Climate Action Club in 2021, I became educated on climate-related weather and other topics related to climate change and was incredibly inspired to help my community through volunteering and raising awareness. Since then, I have made it my duty to pass on the message of protecting our planet and continue to work on projects that will improve our community's ecology.