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From outdoor classrooms to gardens, how Nova Scotia youth are creating healthier school communities

- August 11, 2023

School-community partnerships are empowering children and youth to lead projects like landscaping a new Tranquility Garden in Northport, N.S., in 2020. (UpLift Partnership), Author provided
School-community partnerships are empowering children and youth to lead projects like landscaping a new Tranquility Garden in Northport, N.S., in 2020. (UpLift Partnership), Author provided

 is a PhD student in Dal's School of Health and  is a Professor of Health Promotion and Scientific Director of the Healthy Populations Institute at .

Youth and young adults hold unique, creative and diverse perspectives and approaches compared to their adult counterparts. Think about the advocacy of and around climate change and climate justice or advocacy for all children’s rights to receive an education.

While these advocates have challenged the marginalization of children’s and young people’s voices in the context of countries’ governance typically structured around adult participation, countries around the globe have ratified the and many organizations work to amplify youth voices.

Our work with the in Nova Scotia, Canada, is aimed at supporting the health and learning of school-aged children and youth by empowering them to take the lead in making their school communities more supportive, healthy, sustainable and safe.

We share this work as part of observing on Aug. 12, a day to celebrate, acknowledge and recognize the rights of young people to drive social change for themselves, their communities and the world. We also share it to support youth engagement in social change and healthier school communities year round.

Health Promoting Schools

The UpLift Partnership is rooted in a global movement and model of , first championed by and driven by the insight that “health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life.â€

Involving youth in promoting health in schools can catalyze — what researchers call their “action competence.â€

This includes building knowledge, motivation and competencies that align with this year’s .

Feet seen around a sheet of paper with ideas on grass.
Students brainstorm ideas to create healthier schools as part of a student action grant project. (UpLift Partnership)

Building ‘green skills’

The Uplift Partnership brings together different stakeholders such as school communities, government partners and not-for-profit organizations and is hosted at .

The partnership between these diverse parties is grounded in designed to enhance youth engagement within the Health Promoting Schools model.

Over the past four years, youth have led projects through the support of UpLift student action grants. Building green skills helps them to understand the between health, well-being and nature.

Tranquility Garden

In fall 2020, in the COVID-19 pandemic, a student group in Northport, N.S., created an outdoor space for their school community. Prior to this, the school did not have a physical outdoor seating area or place for the students and staf