H
ow
many young people do you know who sign e-mails
"Environmentally yours"?
Rohit Mehta
does just that. And all the e-mails the 17-year-old
sends are in green. He has been doing this since he
was barely 13.
So
it comes as no surprise to learn that Rohit heads
the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance and is a
leader in the Environment Club, his school’s largest
and most active organization. Rohit also founded
Volunteering Peel, the largest student-run volunteer
organization in Ontario.
In
April 2006, Rohit became the youngest person ever to
receive Mississauga’s Volunteer of the Year Award,
and this year he received the Ontario Medal for
Young Volunteers for using his time and considerable
energy to promote volunteerism and concern for the
environment.
His
interest in the environment was sparked by teachers
at school who talked about how important nature is
and how important it was to care about and conserve
the environment. At the Environment Club at his
school, John Fraser Secondary School in Mississauga,
he met other like-minded students.
"I
guess there has always been an interest," he says.
"At home, too, though they weren’t exactly saying,
‘Switch off the light to save the planet,’ or ‘Shut
the tap to conserve water,’ I was told to do both,
switch off lights when I was leaving a room and to
make sure the tap was not dripping. It was more
cost-related, but the lessons are absorbed! Once, at
a friend’s place, I was shocked that he would walk
out of his room leaving all the lights on! I said,
‘Dude, what are you doing?’ I didn’t know I was
being environmentally-friendly then. In fact, when I
heard them tell us these things at the club, I was,
like, isn’t that common sense?"
The
Environment Club has about 30 members and has
generated a lot of interest with recent events it
organized. Among them, an eco-fashion show called
Green Scene which focused on fair trade, organic
materials and also on reused and remade clothing.
Some of this was donated by local stores like 10,000
Villages and others were made by students. The Club
partnered with Eco Source in its Green Schools
program.
Rohit Mehta
received the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers for
using his time and
considerable energy to promote volunteerism and
concern for the environment.
The
Peel Environment Youth Alliance is a group of
environmentally-minded students from different
schools across Peel. It was started in 2004 by
Jasmeet Sidhu. The objective of the club is
three-fold: To network among environmentally-minded
students, to support teachers and students in
environment projects and to educate all students in
environmental projects.
Last year, Rohit was the president of the chapter at
his school. He also found the time to raise funds
and coordinate volunteers for community-based
initiatives, partnering with organizations including
the Canada Running Series, the Salvation Army, World
Vision, Ecosource, and the Canadian Cancer Society.
Volunteering Peel was, in fact, born of Rohit’s deep
interest in volunteering.
"I
was in grade 10 and noticed that there wasn’t that
much info on the volunteer board, just a couple of
contact numbers. I thought, that isn’t too helpful,
I can do a better job!"
He
got together with a couple of his friends and began
calling up organizations, saying he could arrange
volunteers for them if they could provide some
details about their events.
"Next thing you know, we were taking bus loads of
students to events!’
In
2006, students had contributed 1500 volunteer hours
at over a dozen events through Volunteering Peel and
this year, the numbers are expected to be higher.
"We
have established an executive committee. I am now in
grade 12, and will leave school next year. I want to
set it up so I can pass on the leadership so the
work can continue. We are hoping to set up an
office, get a co-ordinator, and perhaps partner with
an organization to increase our reach," says Rohit.
He
feels the biggest challenges facing the world used
to be creating awareness about the environment.
"We’ve covered that. Most people know about global
warming. Now the challenge is to get them to do
something about it!
"I’ve heard that in China they have a coal-powered
plant going up every day. Things like that can
eclipse any positive change in this part of the
world. People are polluting rivers, clear-cutting
forests. In South America, they are cutting down
rain forests. If someone is littering, well, we can
pick it up, but these changes can’t exactly be
reversed. Sure, we can plant more trees, but rain
forests take hundreds of years to grow – we will not
have a replacement any time soon."
Among the challenges facing Canada, Rohit mentions
the tar sands in Alberta.
"Yes, Alberta is getting oil out of it, but the
amount of pollution wipes out the benefits. I’m not
certain of the figures here, but I believe one
barrel of oil equals five barrels of toxins and
pollutants."
He
feels Canadian policy on the environment could be
stronger, with stiffer penalties for polluters.
"As
technologies improve, we should use it to solve
environmental problems. But all those industries are
still spewing emissions while we are trying to get
people to change light bulbs!"
His
suggestions?
Stop clear cutting.
Once the trees are gone, they are gone.
Strengthen policy.
It’s for the politicians to make the laws, people
will follow.
Increase education on environmental issues.
It is important for people to be aware of the impact
of their actions.
"There are still people out there who don’t recycle.
You can’t expect someone who is not even recycling
to install a solar panel!"
Implement local food programs at schools.
This will benefit not only local farmers, but also
educate the next generation and send the message
that buying local produce is a way to cut pollution
by reducing the transportation factor.
Invest in renewable energy.
Money spent on nuclear power plants would be better
spent developing solar and wind power.
New
public facilities and community centres should all
be built on environmental principles, they should
all have green roofs.
"It
may cost a bit more initially, but these buildings
will pay for themselves with the energy savings." he
points out.
Rohit does his planning and organizing at home and
at school.
At
home, he has a fair-sized room with a big window.
"Natural light is very important to me!"
He
keeps his room neat – most of the time.
"My
desk has to be neat, or I get stressed. But the room
can get chaotic when I am busy. The other day I had
books all over the floor and my mom wanted to know
what I thought I was doing. But she didn’t get too
upset because she knew I would clean up once that
particular project was done!
"It’s a pretty basic room. I have my laptop, a
comfortable chair. I’m a runner and I have ribbons
and awards from various runs on my walls. Also some
of those papers with the number that you get for a
run and some photographs. It’s a relaxing space, I
get lots of work done here!"
Rohit plans to study Environmental Management at utm
next year.
"It’s all pretty open right now, but I do know that
I want to pursue a career in an environment-related
field. I believe very strongly in that."
– Shagorika Easwar
