Walking the Talk: YMCA’s New Environmental Sustainability Intern
Carla in Prague at the 2013 YMCA Europe Youth Festival.
How can the YMCA make a bigger impact in sustainability with youth and youth programs? That’s one of the questions Carla Acosta is going to try answer as the new Environmental Sustainability Intern at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. For the next six months, Carla will be working with the Y staff on various projects that look at ways they can engage youth in the environment, and integrate sustainability in the many different programs being implemented across the Greater Toronto Area.
Applying to be the Environmental Sustainability Intern was a natural next step for the 24-year-old. With a major in Environmental Studies in the management stream and International Development, as well as a post-grad certificate in Environmental Project Management, Carla has been volunteering with YMCA International for 2.5 years. She is also involved in the World Relationships Advisory Committee, and the YMCA Youth Advisory Committee to the Board of Directors which, among other things, represents the voice of youth in the GTA and makes recommendations on youth issues at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Most recently, Carla joined the Change Agent Initiative.
This past August, Carla represented Toronto at the YMCA Europe Youth Festival in Prague. She was one of 260 change agents from 72 countries who came together to develop their leadership skills, and work with other youth from around the world to make sense of the world we live in locally, nationally, and globally. Together, they will continue to move and connect the YMCA to create global impact. This movement of youth empowerment was referred to as “waking up the sleeping giant” by Johan Vilhelm Eltvik, Secretary General - World Alliance of YMCAs. He says young people are at the core of what connects the world YMCAs together. They are filled with potential and the Y can help “set them free” to grow a better future and to create large impacts globally.
The youth conference looked at the four strategic pillars that delegates from a past YMCA World Council meeting thought were the most important issues affecting youth today. They are: Youth Employment; Health; Environment; and Civic Engagement. Back at home, Carla hopes to use what she learned from the conference to work on projects that deal with the environment and civic engagement.
Some of her projects in Toronto include creating the participatory and community engagement aspect of the green roof that will be built on one of the PanAm Games buildings (which the YMCA will take ownership of after). She will also work on a special events calendar that all Y staff can use to integrate environmental aspects into their individual programming. As well, Carla will look into the Y’s history and track all the environmental related projects that have take place and see how they have impacted green house gas emissions, water usage, CO2 emissions, as well as the social impacts.
She also hopes to learn a number of things. “One of the most important things that I’m hoping to learn is really walking the talk. There has been enough theory in my life. I’m trying to really learn the best way to take these ideas and make them into reality.” She also hopes to be able to engage “with local communities to realize successful projects.”
So far, Carla has visited eight different YMCAs in the GTA, and has met with the green team in Scarborough, the youth leadership development group, and the newcomers youth group to discuss the best ways to approach youth environmental engagement. She also represented the YMCA while attending the Beyond Green Youth Summit where she made further connections and learned new ideas from other organizations.
With all that she has done and is involved in, Carla has proven she can walk the talk. Check back in a few months to see where Carla has left her footprint.
Carla at Cedar Glen Farm, the YMCA of Greater Toronto's new organic farm.
