Youth Mentor Award

In times of crisis and stress, often it is the simplest things that offer the greatest relief. Canadians have rediscovered this during the past 18 months of repeated lockdowns and constant worry. Seeking respite in nature in record numbers, people in Canada went outdoors to breathe a little easier, to socialize (distanced) and just to get a break.

In Regina, Shannon Chernick had just been hired as the youth engagement coordinator at Nature Regina when the COVID-19 crisis began. She knew first-hand the effect of school closures and the isolation, boredom and restlessness that resulted. Inspired by her two young sons and their excitement at being outdoors, she recognized the need to create engaging outdoor programming for homebound young people and their families. For the summer, she developed a program called Wandering Wednesdays, offering weekly adventure and activity guides linked to Regina’s conservation areas and parks. These self-guided family activities proved to be very popular. Building on that success, with the return of school in September 2020, Chernick worked with Nature Saskatchewan and SaskOutdoors to start Get Outside! Kids Club. Each week at a different greenspace around Regina, facilitators and volunteers lead children and families through educational games, activities and knowledge-sharing focused on species of plants and animals in the area. In the constrained and dreary days of COVID-19 lockdowns, these programs were popular because they offered a few hours of togetherness and fun outdoors, to everyone from children aged 6 to 12 and their siblings to caregivers, parents and grandparents.

This award honours an individual or group that has made a significant contribution in creating or presenting programs that introduce youth to the importance of conservation, habitat and wildlife.