Our Planet: A Loving Home

The Welsh word Cartref, meaning “loving home,” can translate and be seen in many ways: a person that you love, a place where you feel safe, a feeling of belonging.

 

This Earth Day, the theme is Our Power, Our Planet. This year, they urge us to focus on sustainability and actions that are simple and effective that can help our planet. As a whole, BC is one of the more active provinces in Canada when it comes to protecting the environment. BC is focusing heavily on energy efficiency, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and climate preparedness.  

 

Growing up, I have had a tendency to take for granted the beauty of nature around me. But when I stop to think I do worry what kind of world my children are going to grow up in. Will amazing species I love be extinct? Will there be vast forests to see and play in? Will oceans and beaches be clean and not filled with plastic? Will there be places in nature that my kids adore and feel connected to? I have grown up with a beautiful multitude of diverse animals. At home, I am surrounded by lush forests. Every summer I have my camp, Four Winds, waiting for me. A place that is dedicated to teaching the respect of nature, sustainability, and helping kids understand to appreciate our world and its beauty.

 

Earth is the one home we all share. It is the trees that give us air to breathe, the oceans that hold endless water, and the places where we feel most ourselves. Protecting it isn’t just a responsibility; it is a reflection of what we value and who we choose to be. The future isn’t something distant; it’s being shaped right now by the choices we make, the habits we form, and the care we show. So, as you leave Chapel today, think about the legacy you want to be a part of, not just for yourself but for everyone who comes after you, think about what kind of planet YOU want to live in. 

 

 

 

I have always enjoyed travelling. I like exploring new places and I love seeing how different every country is. Getting to these new places you often need to fly. When I look outside the airplane window I see the mountains, oceans, lakes and forests and it makes me realize how special our Earth is. 

 

I remember during one family trip to the ocean, I heard the sound of the waves and the laughter of my family as they played in the water, and I had a moment realizing the joy that the earth gives people.

 

Earth Day reminds us that, just like Samuel House takes care of us, we need to take care of our planet. It is important that we show respect so that we, and future generations, can enjoy it.

 

Earth Day reminds us that we need to take time to think about our world and how we can make it better and keep it clean. It reminds me to think about the Earth and what I can do to help it.

 

It makes me sad to see places that have garbage lying on the ground and when oceans, lakes and rivers are polluted.

 

Just like exploring new places we need to explore how we can keep our earth clean. That's why I support Earth Week and I hope you do too!

 

Over the course of this year, I have grown to love Samuel House, and it is starting to feel like a second home. Because the students at Shawnigan attend a boarding school, we are privileged enough to have two homes: one with our families and one here on campus. But I want to ask you this: where does your home end and the rest of the world begin? What if we truly treated the earth as our own loving home? 

 

Every morning when I drive to school, I see a woman who, no matter the weather, is always picking up trash on the busy roadside and along the shores of Shawnigan Lake. I notice that every time we pass her by, she has a look of belonging and purpose on her face. She is an example of someone who sees the world as her loving home. She takes so much pride in her outer environment and invests her time to clean up after others.

 

Growing up in Shawnigan Lake, I have attended a few different nature schools. I spent many days learning how to survive in the wilderness, and I gained useful knowledge that helped me feel a sense of purpose for my place on this planet. Through these experiences, I learned how to build fires using a bow drill and flint and steel. I learned how to build shelters out of fallen trees and leaves. I learned how to forage food from the woods.  These skills helped me to feel at home in the wild.

  

The First Peoples Principle of Learning for this month is “Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.” To me, this means that if we want a beautiful planet, we need to do our part. 

 

So, ask yourself, where does your home really end? If it does not end on your doorstep, then how far can it go?