Students Helping Other Communities (SHOC) groups from school divisions including the Hanover School Division congregated to learn about the effects of climate change.

Kira Burkett, Youth Engagement Officer for the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC) explains they looked at how people around the world are experiencing the negative effects of climate change and what the students can implement in their school and community to be more eco-friendly.  Burkett adds the students are at an age where they can start making those connections between how people are living, why they're living that way and what factors affect it.

Grade seven students Kira Gehrer and Rachel Francis say they were able to learn more about climate disasters and carbon dioxide production, which they can use in their everyday life.  Gehrer notes the first thing they did was talk about climate disasters.

"We had a big piece of cardboard which was the land that we had and the we were given pieces to build houses, apartments, skyscrapers and farms.  And we had three rounds and in-between each round there was a climate disaster, so the volunteers came around and would destroy some of our stuff, to give an example [of a climate disaster].  So there was a climate disaster each time the carbon dioxide rate went up."

Burkett adds the students were also involved in activities which taught them public speaking and leadership skills.  Francis explains what they learnt about leadership skills.

"We drew a picture of someone that would be a perfect hero, or a leader and then we wrote down all the things that would make a perfect leader.  Like waves to people on the street, is very friendly, eco-friendly and kind.  [My favorite part of the day was] probably the public speaking and how you can get your point across better and how to really interact with your audience."

Burkett says she hopes the students left understanding that climate change is an important issue and will be even more dire in the future.