Figure 43 – Climate Actions of Importance to Penticton Youth

Youth Activity

An activity package included key facts about climate change in Penticton, a summary of the draft plan as well as a one-question survey was provided to 25 classrooms. Teachers were asked to lead a discussion about climate change and invite students to share what they would like Penticton to do to reduce GHGs in the community.

The 502 responses from the youth survey were very encouraging, and highlights the importance of integrating them into the overall climate discussion moving forward. One questions was asked on what the City can do to help reduce GHGs in the community, and is illustrated in Figure 43. Overall, the most important measures for the City to focus on were home energy efficiency (65%), composting (62%), and encouraging biking (60%).

Figure 43 – Climate Actions of Importance to Penticton Youth

Beyond this survey question, students were also able to provide written comments. There were some common themes that are important to note, and are listed as follows:

- More solar panels on buildings - Reusable and renewable materials to reduce waste, and reduce reliance on plastic - Affordability and chargers for electric vehicles - Planting more trees Lastly, see Figure 44 for results from a mindmap exercise with students from KVR Middle School on what they see as the ultimate impacts of climate change over their lifetime.