Local youth group brings Earth Hour to Brantford

By Caitlin Henshaw, Special to B-cause


“I’m turning out my lights,” one youth declares.

“I’ll be turning out my lights,” replies another.

“Will you?” choruses the group.

With lights dimmed and flashlights shining, this is the question posed by the youth of Brantford.

On February 22, a delegation of students from the Branlyn Neighbourhood Youth Association arrived at the Brantford City Council meeting to speak on the coming festivities planned for this year’s Earth Hour. This is the third year the event has taken place and the group hopes to make it more successful than the last.
Earth Hour is the initiative proposed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) three years ago at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness on climate change and show that if the people of the earth work together, they can make a difference in the fight against global warming.

Since 2007, 4000 cities in 88 countries have participated in this event. On March 27 at 8:30pm, cities across the country will be turning off their lights for one hour. Various businesses including McDonalds, Tim Hortons, and Zellars have agreed to participate as well, promising to turn off lights on their properties for the duration of the hour.

The City of Brantford has pledged to participate as well. Brantford Power has agreed to shut off all non-essential lighting in all of its facilities for the duration of the hour. In Harmony Square, games and festivities organized by the Branlyn Youth Association are being held before and during the hour. People are encouraged to arrive before 8:00pm as many of the festivities will be starting up to 45 minutes before the hour. Between 6:30pm and 10:30pm free transportation will be provided to and from the event by Brantford City Transit to help in reduce the emissions that might be caused by those attending the event.

The hour though, is only the beginning. The Branlyn Youth Association is hoping to start a monthly event called Brantford’s Hour without Power. On the last Saturday of every month people are encouraged to continue the work of Earth Hour and turn off all non-essential lighting and power at 8:30pm for one hour to help Brantford make a difference in the fight against climate change.

Councillors have applauded the group’s initiative with this event, impressed by how “mature” and “well organized” the Branlyn Youth have been. Addressing the delegation, Brantford City Mayor M. Hancock said, “With young people like you, I know our future is secure.”

For more information on the event, please see http://www.branlyn.ca/.