Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 2416 | 2016 lake Stewards newsletter Hacking the Youngest Generation of Lake Stewards by Michelle Lewin and Deanna Panitz of FOCA We hear regularly from FOCA members that a common challenge facing cottage communities is how to involve more youth in the community, and—hopefully—to become active participants in their lake associations. We want to see a legacy of lake stewards who care about the critical components of our waterfront communities, which we might sum up as: happy, healthy people connected to a thriving local ecosystem of plants and animals, and holding deep respect for the broader sustainability of the natural environment. But what is stewardship, and how do we ‘grow’ a lake steward? AnewpublicationfundedbytheCommunityFoundationof Greater Peterborough attempts to define some significant routes. Pathway to Stewardship: A Framework for Children and Youth, is the draft document which has recently been circulated for public review. It contains a number of key findings drawn from educational literature and other sources that suggest a very strong link between childhood experiences and stewardship choices later in life. In other words: if we want the youngest generation to care about the waterfront, we need to make a concerted effort to limit their ‘screen time’ and get them active in that environmentwhiletheyarestillyoung.Theauthorsemphasize the critical importance of spending time in nature as a means of enhancing a life-long involvement in stewardship. Pathway to Stewardship outlines a number of ‘stewardship principles’ to be fostered early in life, including: • respect for each other and all living things, recognizing the interconnectedness of us all • developing a sense of awe and wonder, alongside a sense of place and belonging • sharing and building knowledge together, and finding waystomentorthenextgeneration.(“Joyiscontagious!”) The guide offers a series of age-targeted benchmarks for children and youth that are intended to tap core stewardship principles through focused actions. For a toddler, the goal might be to explore outdoors together at least one hour per week; this could involve turning over rocks to see what is underneath, following bugs to discover where they are going, jumping in leaves, and so on. Pre-teens might take on the challenge to: “try at least 3 new outdoor activities that don’t require fossil fuels. Include a sport, a craft and a survival skill.”