YouthToSea Alum Wins Burnaby Youth Environmental Award

Ocean Wise would like to congratulate Casey Lo, YouthToSea alum for winning the Burnaby Youth Environmental award for her outstanding commitment to environmental stewardship and revitalization of an indoor greenhouse at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School. 

During her time at YouthToSea, Casey shared her passion for gardening and protecting our oceans. With the help of her friend and fellow participant Callista, the two revitalized their school’s green house at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School. They repurposed the space to teach others about the importance of community gardens, environmental impacts, climate change and create a green space to enjoy in-between classes. 

Casey was able to also secure a grant with help from YouthToSea, that was used to develop a self-watering system for the outdoor garden metal bins. The bins and the watering system are now used at other Burnaby schools.  

Equipped with potato bags, a self-watering system and soon-to-be bee condos; it is no doubt that this garden will leave a lasting impact on students and the community. With the support of the Forest Grove gardening Club, Casey is able to teach elementary school children about seed-to-table programming, while the garden also provides food for the school’s home economics classrooms, and it allows students to see how the food they eat is grown.  

The Greenhouse Project at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School has had a broader community impact. The project connected other students in the school to growing plants for their outdoor garden bins, as well as impacted other garden clubs that work with the Sprouting Chefs Society, including Forest Grove Elementary, Edmonds Community School, and Windsor Elementary. Casey has been an inspiration to her peers while showing a desire to create positive solutions for the future in permaculture, growing food, and protecting the environment. 

What once was an unused room has now turned into a beautiful hands-on learning experience and space. This is a great example of what youth are capable of when given the tools to bring their ideas to life! We’re so proud of Casey, her award, and the legacy she leaves behind at Burnaby Mountain!  

You can follow Casey and Callista’s garden here: @bmss_garden_project 

Read more about Casey in the news