This is the tenth in our series of stories celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of youth in our community. These inspirational young adults are enriching our lives with their passion and commitment to the betterment of society.

Olivia Cavanagh

On February 3, 2014 Olivia was part of a group of youth who visited my constituency office on Shelbourne Street. They came with a simple message — one that was being delivered to MLAs across our province. In 2007 British Columbia promised to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 33% relative to 2007 levels by 2020. MLAs were being asked by youth to “Defend our Future” and commit to the 2020 reduction targets. I did.

But the irony was not lost on me when we met Olivia at Discovery Coffee on Oak Bay Avenue on October 10. Just the day before I had delivered my response to the Speech from the Throne . In it I challenged all MLAs to find the courage and leadership to recognize the challenge of global warming for what it is. I challenged all MLAs to recognize the folly of solely basing our economy on hypothetical exports of a commodity that may or may not find a market elsewhere.  I argued that we could, and should show leadership in the development of a diversified, sustainable, 21^st century economy and subsequently introduced an amendment to the Throne Speech to add:

And that the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia accepts the responsibility of demonstrating the leadership to choose growth, to move forward and create a legacy for our children, but also recognizes that this leadership means not gambling our future prosperity on a hypothetical windfall from LNG, and instead supports the development of a diversified, sustainable, 21^st century economy.

My amendment was defeated 65-1 and so I wondered just whose future was actually being defended.

But having the opportunity to interview Olivia the next day was both uplifting and inspirational. Being in the presence of Olivia’s infectious joy and passion made it impossible for me to remain saddened by what had transpired in the Legislature the previous day.

Olivia is incredibly passionate about the environment and she has immersed herself in numerous environmental initiatives both inside and outside of Oak Bay High School. For example, having been a member of the Oak Bay High Environmental Club since Grade 9, Olivia and a friend decided to head up the club this year.  Olivia describes herself as more of an activist than a leader and believes we all need to step up to protect our environment for future generations. Particularly motivating for Olivia was the impassioned speech given by Emma Watson, British actor and Goodwill Ambassador to the UN, at the recent United Nations Climate Summit. Olivia was quick to quote from Emma Watson “If not me, who? If not now, when?”

Olivia was born and raised in Victoria, attending Monterey Elementary, Margaret Jenkins Elementary (for one year while Monterey was being seismically upgraded and turned into a middle school), back to Monterey Middle School (for Grade 8) and she is currently in her graduating year. She’s been on the honour roll at Oak Bay ever since she first arrived there in Grade 9.  In addition to taking on a heavy load in the sciences this year, Olivia is also studying ceramics — her favourite course. Now in her third year of school ceramics, and a regular on her potter’s wheel at home, Olivia describes it as a “calming and relaxing” creative outlet for which “you can always improve”. In addition to her studies, Olivia has enjoyed playing soccer with Bays United since she was 6 and rugby with the Oak Bay Girls’ Team since Grade 10.

Olivia is very interested in food security issues and in spring 2013 she travelled to Hornby Island where she stayed on an organic farm to learn about their food production. This opportunity arose through World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farmers (WWOOF), an organization that, in return for volunteer help, offers food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. During her time on Hornby, Olivia developed a sincere “appreciation for the amount of work [required] to produce the majority of your own food”. In addition, she was fascinated to learn how to grow and harvest willow shoots for making baskets. Olivia has had opportunities to share her knowledge with others, including giving workshops on veganism and conscious eating. Twice she has presented workshops on food security and water security at the annual student-driven Youth Climate Action Summit, run by YesBC (Youth for Environmental Stewardship), a locally based non profit organization dedicated to empowering young environmental leaders.

For the past 3 years, Olivia has been attending regular meetings with the Sierra Club of BC’s Youth Environmental Leadership Program (YELP). This has provided her with opportunities to give presentations to elementary and middle school students on a variety of environmental issues. Of course, Olivia is active locally in attending as many environmental rallies as she can; particularly those related to proposed heavy oil pipeline and coastal tanker projects.

During Olivia’s grade 11 year, she was in charge of coordinating the school’s recycling program. She lends support to the students running the program this year and “views sustainability of the program as important as the program itself. Olivia credits Derek Shrubsole, a teacher at Oak Bay High School, as someone who has been particularly inspirational to her. He “helped us with the whole recycling program and is the teacher-sponsor of the Environment Club at Oak Bay High”. Mr. Shrubsole describes Olivia as a very positive, genuine person who has a mature outlook and understands how to make connections relating environmental sustainability and the protection our environment for future generations.

Recently, the Environment Club was approached by a local resident concerning a potential development on Yale Street in Oak Bay where 20 out of 22 mature Garry Oak trees on the lot would be cut down to make way for townhouses. Olivia and her friends were affronted by this apparent disregard for nature and immediately took up the cause, including enlisting me in a video they produced to raise public awareness.

Somehow Olivia also finds time to volunteer in the community. She has been a dedicated volunteer with Operation Trackshoes for 7 years and has volunteered with the Oak Bay High Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock campaign. Last year she shaved her head for the cause.

Olivia also ran a bake sale to raise funds for Tour de Rock. Olivia works part time at 2 local sustainable-food restaurants, typically clocking 8-10 hours per week. And from a very young age, she has always enjoyed being outdoors, loved camping, biking, hiking and, more recently, surfing and kayaking.

Olivia’s future goals include a commitment to convince others about the importance of environmental awareness and stewardship. She has realized how much we have to lose unless we take action to protect what we have. She made a point of telling us that she “takes care of her body to live healthy, so why wouldn’t we want to take care of the environment for the future?”

Olivia may take a gap year following graduation, possibly traveling with World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farmers to Indonesia or New Zealand, but plans to further her education and study Marine Biology at university. At the same time, she notes, “I plan to be an environmental activist and I want to surf”.

Olivia is a wonderful, joyful, and engaged young woman who was an absolute delight to interview. We are convinced that Olivia will continue to make a positive difference to the world around her through her proven dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

Thank you Olivia for all that you do to make our community a better place to live in and thank you for empowering me with motivation and enthusiasm on a day that that I woke up feeling somewhat defeated.

Today at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we remember. Ninety-six years ago armistice was signed between the Allies and the Germans in Compiègne, France thereby bringing an end to World War I.

Today we remember those who have sacrificed so much so that we can live in peace and freedom.

And today we also offer our profound gratitude to the men and women of our armed forces. We remember so that we might never forget.

I had the honour of laying a wreath at the Oak Bay Cenotaph in commemoration of Remembrance Day. Many hundreds of residents were present at Oak Bay’s memorial for the ninety-seven men and women who lost their lives during World War II.  We quietly pondered the sacrifices made by these men and women. Together we prayed for them. And we said thank you.

Many people believe that the Cleantech sector is synonymous with the production of renewable energy. But it’s much broader than that. Cleantech includes the generation, transportation, storage and efficient end use of clean, renewable energy.

On Saturday, November 8, I had the pleasure of attending the official launch of Led Bright’s Choice liquid cooled bulbs. Unlike traditional LED bulbs that have complex heat transfer / sink systems (which can make some of them appear odd) these new bulbs are liquid cooled and look exactly like traditional incandescents. They are incredibly efficient, mercury free and you can even bounce them off the ground and catch them (as I am doing below) as they are shatter proof.

I’m convinced that liquid cooled LED bulbs are ready to break into the North American market. What’s most satisfying to know is that a BC-based company HighNet Energy Inc. is leading the way. Below, David-Clark Wilson from HighNet Energy, drops, and I subsequently catch a 6 Watt LED bulb once it bounces off the ground. The owner of Ross Bay Home Hardware, l0cated at 1584 Fairfield Road, appears in the background.

If you’re in Vancouver visit HighNet Energy Inc. at their showroom at 2141 Burrard Street.

This is the ninth in our series of stories celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of youth in our community. These inspirational young adults are enriching our lives with their passion and commitment to the betterment of society.

Ana Adams

We arranged to meet Ana for coffee at Pure Vanilla on Cadboro Bay Road one day after school. It didn’t take us long to realize that she was an incredibly well rounded, generous and caring young woman who already had a clear sense of purpose and direction.  Ana’s dream is to become a pediatric physiotherapist and after interviewing her for a little over an hour, it’s pretty clear to us why.

Ana was born and raised in Victoria, attending St. Patrick’s School from Kindergarten to Grade 7, Monterey Middle School for Grade 8 and the Oak Bay High, where she is currently in Grade 12. In addition to maintaining an outstanding first class academic record and winning a prestigious Oak Bay High School Green and White Award last year, Ana is engaged in numerous extracurricular activities.

Ana has played field hockey since Grade 7 and has always competed at a very high level.  She served as captain of the Under 15 BC provincial team and presently captains her high school team. Last year, Ana played on the under 18 BC provincial team. Playing at this level requires a high degree of commitment – including trips every weekend to Vancouver for practices during late spring and early summer. Ana currently plays with the Lynx Women’s Division 1 field hockey team as a midfielder. She has had to overcome severe stress injuries in both hips, but she persevered and has since recovered from these injuries. For Ana, playing sports is also about giving back and so since 2011, she has coached in the Under 10 age group of the Victoria junior field hockey spring league.

For the past three years Ana has acted as a Peer Buddy in the Best Buddies Program whose goal is providing inclusivity and friendship for students of all abilities. She’s also presently active in the Youth Against Cancer club that runs throughout the school year promoting cancer awareness and holding fundraising campaigns. This year the club is spearheading an awareness campaign focusing on the harmful effects of flavoured tobacco products. Ana was also involved in the annual Oak Bay Tour de Rock Cops for Cancer campaign – a bottle drive she organized brought in $5,500.00 of the total $40,000 raised by the school this year. She also helped with a community event at Willows Beach, a car wash and bake sale for the cause.

Ana has been leader of the Oak Bay Youth Outreach Program, where 15-20 students research the work of different societies and not for profit organizations in our community in order to determine where they might donate a $2,500.00 grant from the Victoria Foundation’s Vital Youth Program. Last year, the beneficiary was the Multiple Sclerosis Society. They Youth Outreach Program also raises awareness in the school of different issues facing the broader community.

Ana, along with 3 peers, also won $5,000.00 in the Youth in Philanthropy initiative. This school-based initiative involves choosing a charity and pitching it to judges while competing with others doing the same for their selected charity.  The Mary Manning Centre, which provides child abuse prevention and counselling services, was the beneficiary of the $5,000 that Ana’s team won.  Ana noted that she was “terrified about public speaking, but she got through it” and she values the experience she gained from going beyond her comfort zone with this project.

A “Hero Holiday” school trip to Mexico last year, which Ana described as “the best experience of my life”, reinforced Ana’s desire to work with children, particularly those in developing nations. The Oak Bay High School group traveled to Mexico to help build houses for two families. Ana detailed how she also spent many hours with two young girls (aged 4 and 7 years) with whom she ended up becoming very attached. Initially the young girls were very shy and wary of the unfamiliar visitors and their oddities like water bottles and sunglasses. Ana fondly recalled how the four year old, Estefania, would nervously peer over a cloth fence and watch the Oak Bay students from afar. But Ana, through showing the girls pictures from her digital camera, was quickly able to make them feel comfortable and safe. By the end of the first day, Estefania and Ana were friends. By the second day, Estefania, became so fond of Ana that she screamed her name and ran from a nearby field upon seeing her, and subsequently jumped into her arms. On Ana’s last day in Mexico, Estefania presented her with a little yellow flower that she tucked in Ana’s hair.

Ana also relayed to us a story about how Estefania, the four year old, gave her a rusty blue hair clip. “It was very emotional, one of the best moments of my life” when the young impoverished girl passed along to Ana one of her valued possessions. Ana enjoyed being able to help the seven year old girl with her homework – they sat on the dirt floor of her home and worked on numbers and Ana taught her some English phrases. The girl’s grandmother, who was in poor health, appreciated Ana’s assistance so much that she presented her with a handmade bracelet. Ana told us how much the bracelet means to her and that she rarely wears it because she wants to keep it forever as a keepsake.

Ana has already “done her homework” and extensively researched universities both directly, and through attending Canadian University information events. Upon graduating from high school, Ana’s dream would be to be accepted into a university kinesiology or human biology program, with the eventual goal of becoming a pediatric physiotherapist. When we asked why, she said, “I love children, interacting with them and getting to know them”. Upon completion of her training, Ana would like to spend time working with children in a developing nation. Clearly inspired by her “hero holiday”, Ana would like to learn more about global health issues and international development. Ideally, she would like to work with children who have been affected by war in association with Doctors without Borders.

We asked Ana if there was anyone in particular that inspired her. She responded that there were aspects and attributes of many different people that inspired her and there were “lots of awesome teachers”; she couldn’t single anyone out. She was also quick to note that she was “surrounded by amazing students”.  Ana is humble, thoughtful and compassionate, yet clearly capable of competing at the highest levels in sports, academics and leadership. She’ll be an exceptionally strong candidate for both athletic and academic entry scholarships from universities across North America. And wherever she ends up, it’s clear to us that she’ll enrich the lives of those around her through her dedication and commitment to her community.

Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Andrew Weaver will be hosting a community Town Hall from 7:00 pm to 8:30pm on Tuesday, October 28th. Come out to the University of Victoria’s David Turpin Auditorium for an MLA update and hear about Andrew’s latest work in the community and the legislature. Included in the MLA update will be an open Q & A, where you can bring your questions and concerns to Andrew’s attention. Following the Q & A, you are welcome to stick around for an informal meet and greet with Andrew and his staff. We hope to see you all there!

For a map of the university campus, please click here – The David Turpin Auditorium is located in Room A120 of the David Turpin Building.