Wesley Robert Splinter
2023 Youth Climate Activism Essay Entry
Youth Climate Activism Award
by Wesley Splinter
My name is Wesley Robert Splinter. I am 8 years old and I am in grade 3. I like to bike ride, ski, and play sports. I also care a lot about Mother Earth. I first learned about climate change in kindergarten. At first I didn’t really know what it meant. My teacher helped me read a book about polar bears. It told me the ice up north was collapsing and that the polar bears couldn’t hunt because there wasn’t enough ice to rest on while they were swimming to catch fish or seals. If climate change means I can’t do my activities in nature and animals can’t do what they need to do to survive, then I think we need to put a stop to it.
In grade 2 I learned that pollution is causing climate change and that it effects all living things. Dirty air is harder to breath and not as healthy for us. Dirty water can kill animals and make people sick. The way we live is causing heat to build up around Mother Earth which has huge consequences for land, water, and all living things. I see climate change happening when I notice winter is getting shorter and summer is getting longer. The summer is getting hotter and drier. The forest fires are getting bigger each year. My dad says the weather is getting more extreme and we are seeing drought, rain storms, and warming that causes bugs and other living things to travel a long way north from their home.
My Kokum also taught me about climate change. She read me a book called “We Are Water Protectors”. In this story there was an oil leak and a lot of pollution coming from the smoke stacks. Then the main character went all around turtle island dunking a copper bucket with tobacco in it to clean the water. They knew they had to do that because the trees were dying and the air was thicker to breathe. It was a big job so they gathered a lot of people to help. They also did their best to make less smoke. In indigenous culture we should respect and protect Mother earth. I want climate change to stop because I want to keep riding my bike, skiing, and playing soccer in nature.
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I am going to be a water warrior to fight climate change. I got the idea of being a water warrior from a book called ‘We are Water Protectors’ and I think that we should all be a water warriors! This is how I am a water warrior: I take shorter showers. I turn the tap off when I am brushing my teeth. I reuse my towel. We try to only water our plants 1-2 times a week. Being a water warrior doesn’t only mean using less water. There are other ways we can save water: Use less electricity by only watching 20 minutes of TV time a day, turning off the lights when we are not using them, and use a drying rack instead of the drying machine. I try to use scrap paper instead new paper. I pick up litter when I walk passed it. We recycle as much as we can. We send things to the thrift shop and buy used gear if we can. In the future I plan to ride bikes instead of using cars to help with the pollution problem. I want to become a police officer when I grow up, maybe I would be able to join their bike patrol. Because police officers need to move fast in emergencies, I would invent a special police bike that runs off fruits and vegetables, the ones I don’t like, and then creates compost for growing more food fuel. It will take all of us doing little things to slow climate change down.
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?
I want to become a police officer when I grow up, maybe I would be able to join their bike patrol. Because police officers need to move fast in emergencies, I would invent a special police bike that runs off fruits and vegetables, the ones I don’t like, and then creates compost for growing more food fuel.
If you could share with us one message of hope for our planet, what would it be?
I hope the planet will be healthy. To keep the planet healthy all of us need to help.
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
My family and especially my grandparents inspire me to work on climate change. Seeing the earth change and hearing about the animals dying makes me want to help.