Season 3, Episode 21: Carter

Host John Whidden interviews Carter Mochinski from Lake Country, BC on Climate Action Figures. They discuss a QuickFix from Roger in Calgary about writing to companies as an investor, and Carter’s view that civic engagement with MPs/MLAs and corporations matters. Carter explains the Center for Global Education (CGE) and how it supports global climate education and youth participation. He shares highlights from attending COP30 in Belém, Brazil with CGE, including meeting Canada’s environment minister and interviewing a UNFCCC official, while criticizing limited youth access to negotiations and the presence of oil lobbyists. Carter describes nature-based AP Seminar education, learning from Syilx/Okanagan elders and 13-moon calendars, his political aspirations, and his personal climate action of eating less meat, using beans and chickpeas. He draws hope from 13-year-old UNICEF advocate Prasiddhi Singh.

00:00 Meet Carter

00:28 QuickFix Letters

01:46 CGE Climate Education

02:55 COP 30 Highlights

03:49 Youth Voices At COP

06:27 Fixing The COP Process

07:26 Nature Based Learning

09:28 Vitamin N Connection

11:16 Politics And Diplomacy Goals

15:00 BC Resource Tensions

16:21 Indigenous Wisdom

18:01 Food And Climate Action

19:15 Hope From Youth Leaders

20:26 Closing And Farewell

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https://cgeducation.org/

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Transcript

Carter 0:00

I'm Carter Mochinski from Lake Country, British Columbia. Thanks for being with us on Climate Action Figures.

John 0:14

Well, hello and welcome to a brand new edition of Climate Action Figures. My name as always is John Whidden, and this week on the show you get to meet Carter. But first, this week's QuickFix, which comes to us from Roger in Calgary. Roger says: I've done lots of letter writing over the years. And some of my letters to companies listed in my RRSP's mutual fund turned into quite a project, so I got written up in Corporate Knights Magazine for my trouble. thanks for sharing that, Roger. We will put a link to that article in the show notes in case you're interested and welcome Carter,

Carter 0:57

Hi John.

John 0:57

what do you think about that QuickFix?

Carter 0:59

You know, it's really interesting. I love to see when people are engaging civically. Um, I think it's so important to. Uh, reach out to people and, you know, I love to be involved politically, so I am constantly emailing MPs and MLAs, so I, I think it's very valuable to network like that.

John 1:16

Very true. And I guess if you're, writing to a company as, either a customer or an investor, they're gonna take that seriously because you're the one who makes the company go. So if you say, the environment's important to me, then hopefully they'll take the environment a little more seriously.

Carter 1:32

I believe in, in that aspect is so important as a constituency of your, your MLAs or MPs representing you in Parliament. I think it, it should be viewed the same way as you're talking about with, um, an investor.

John 1:46

Now Carter, we were connected by the Center for Global Education. Could you tell us a little bit about that organization?

Carter 1:53

Yeah, I'd love to. So, uh, the Center for Global Education or CGE is, uh, based in Canada and Alberta. Um, and we work with global partners across the world bringing climate education and advocacy to every corner of the earth. The way I've been involved mostly is as a delegate to a global conference. So CGE puts out applications to students in our partner countries across the world, and students can apply to come to conferences with CGE just like I did. And we also do education courses virtually. A lot of what we do is online and that allows for, uh, people from across the world to join us in, their passion for the environment. So, CGE is essentially, uh, using resources for more developed parts of the world and helping people in less developed parts of the world join in in those conferences and have a voice. Is that right? That's exactly how I would describe it.

John 2:48

Very cool, and they connected us, which is wonderful. And it was Sarah specifically who did that. So shout out to Sarah. Thanks for doing that. Now you attended COP 30, was that connected with CGE as well?

Carter 3:00

That's right. I went with CGE.

John 3:01

Do you wanna tell us a little bit about the highlights of that experience?

Carter 3:04

COP 30. It was amazing for me. It was the first time I've been out of North America, so, going to Belém Brazil for COP 30, uh, was a beautiful experience, first of all, in the, in seeing a different culture and, um, experiencing how people live differently across the world. It definitely opened up my perspective. In terms of the actual conference some highlights were: meeting Julie Dabrusin, who's the Minister for Environment Climate Change Canada, as well as I got to interview the Deputy Executive Secretariat for UNFCCC. It's a very long title, but she's an amazing person. And I think it was just seeing a collective group come together with a, a goal on, on fighting climate change and, seeing what a big group of people can do when they really care about something.

John 3:49

Carter, do you feel like the youth voice was actually heard by people at the conference?

Carter 3:54

Yeah, it's a, it's a controversial topic for sure, and I think that when we look at the actual goals of the conference, conference was supposed to be COP of the children, which was really interesting for me. And I, I actually remember sitting in this side event, and it was only children in this big circle, and we were kind of sharing out with a microphone and going around the circle talking about issues. And sometimes at COP, it felt a lot like we were just trying to put a camera in front of the youth's face and saying that they're there without hearing what they have to say or giving them enough time to express what they're saying and then taking their perspective and actually using it in the negotiations and in the decisions that are being made at the highest level. Um, I think that's an issue that we're seeing, not just at COP 30, but in other places across the world. it, it was unfortunate. I remember after doing that little side event, talking to another person that was there who is a little bit older and he brought up exactly what I was thinking when I was, when we were there in that moment. So I think that youth who were there, were they actually listened to and represented? I would say not as much as I would've liked. The big problem to that is we didn't see a lot of youth in the actual negotiation rooms with government officials. I think that is where we're lacking at conferences like this is... We see them walking around and a small amount, I do have to say, like CGE is the largest youth delegation at COP for the past couple years, and especially this year. And you know, we're walking around, you're not seeing other youth. There's a very small percentage of youth there, but we are there and the thing is, we're getting some exposure and every year I think that there's a little bit more, but the steps that we're taking aren't big enough, I don't think, at that highest level. I'm not seeing enough of youth in the negotiations. I actually did a, an official press briefing while I was at COP. Specifically on this topic about how did I feel the youth were represented and what does it mean and why is it important to have youth represented at these conferences. Um, and after the press briefing, I just remember feeling so passionate about this issue and feeling like even though we're here and we fought so hard to get here, while we're there, we're fighting for the ability to be heard after we've already fought to be here. So it's just a continuous fight for the youth to, um, let their voices be heard.

John 6:28

Looking forward, Carter, do you have hope for the COP process as a general concept? Is it something we need to keep doing? Is it something that needs to drastically change? What do you figure?

Carter 6:38

I don't think it's something that we need to stop doing, because I think it has value no matter no matter what the challenges I. face. I think bigger steps need to be taken. When we look at COP 30 specifically, a lot of people felt that, this was an unsuccessful COP. We saw some ambitious goals with phase out fossil fuels treaties and negotiations that did not get completed at COP. And we also saw, again, the largest delegation at COP was oil lobbyists. That is a problem. We need to change all these little things, all these little things that surround COP that aren't working. And also we need to continue to have these ambitious goals and also have the advocacy behind it and the government officials believing in the issue so that we can all work together and fight them.

John 7:27

To attend a COP at 17 years old must mean that you got an early start in environmentalism. Where was that seed planted?

Carter 7:35

I think it was, planted in my education. For the past couple years I've gotten the opportunity to be in a class that is part of CGE's work, and that's kind of how I got involved with CGE as well. It's nature based classroom and it uses, uh, AP seminar and nature education combined. And We're always looking at expanding, um, and bringing it to more schools across the country, there's only a handful across the country, one of them, I'm lucky is at my school. And that's what really got me into caring about the environment because the class doesn't just teach you about why is the environment's important. It puts you outside, it puts you in the environment where you make a connection with the land. And that's what I've learned to do and it's been a really valuable experience for me.

John 8:20

You mentioned AP seminar. What does that mean exactly?

Carter 8:22

AP seminar is through college board and it's, uh, an inquiry style of learning. That specific class is not about, um, environmentalism at all or geared towards, uh, nature-based learning, but it kind of teaches, uh, essay writing and how do I do presentations at a university level.

John 8:45

It's like a high, an advanced high school course, basically.

Carter 8:47

Yeah, for sure. So what CGE has done is they've taken AP seminar and they've taken nature-based, uh, way of learning and combined it together into this class format that we're seeing out in a couple schools across the country.

John 9:00

So you first heard about CGE through your high school?

Carter 9:04

My teacher that, uh, teaches that course, first uh, introduced me to CGE that way. And I also actually met Sarah, shout to Sarah again at, uh, another conference that I went to that was not necessarily CGE's conference, it was actually with BC Parks Foundation. But that's where I met her.

John 9:21

Feel free to say hi to your teacher if they're the one who brought you into all this.

Carter 9:24

Yeah. Shout out to Marni and Sarah!

John 9:26

Teachers are so important to all of us. Now, the seed was planted there. How did it grow and what has encouraged you as you've continued to, uh, grow as an environmentalist?

Carter 9:37

I think my love for the land grows every single day I step outside. Building an emotional connection for something that most view as inanimate is really beautiful. And spending time outside and seeing how the land is changing and how I'm changing is, just something that I, I think we need to do more of as a society. I'm becoming a better person because of that connection. I'm growing my competency. I'm growing my learning skills. I'm growing my development skills. Actually, I'll quote, I have it right here from a, a book actually, uh, it's called Vitamin N, uh, Richard Louv. And one of his, concepts that he comes up with is called Nature Deficiency Disorder. It's the idea that in society we have developed a disconnect with nature and, technology is, is shifting us to a different way of living. That book talks a lot about how we can get back to having more Vitamin N. So that's really been a big part of my life.

John 10:32

Carter, you used the phrase most people view as inanimate in referring to nature. What do you think the solution is to that issue?

Carter 10:42

I think that it's using nature as a tool. Not that we're going to objectify it, but using it as a, a way that we can improve ourselves. I believe in, in nature as medicine, in nature, as something that helps your mental and physical wellbeing, and I think that people need to spend more time outside and see what it is to have this environment that has so many different moving parts and has so many different pieces and it comes together and it creates perfection. Um, and I think that's just really beautiful and something that we take for granted.

John 11:14

That is a lovely way to put it. In your signature line, it says you are an aspiring politician, diplomat, and activist. It sounds like the latter is checked off already. Politician and diplomat, what, what are your aspirations in that regard?

Carter 11:30

My passion area... I think it's really cool to see environmentalists take so many different routes at advocacy and fighting this problem, and lots of my peers in CD and and at school who care about the environment, uh, do it in so many different ways. So first of all, credit that there's so many different ways that you can be an ally in fighting for the environment that you can act, be an activist. My way of doing it is in politics. I personally love politics and I love the environment, and I think that we need more climate politicians. So, a couple ways that I'm doing that. I'm a youth counselor at my city's district council, so I sit with all the other councilors who are adults. And I offer some youth perspective and I do a lot of talking about the environment and bringing that into the conversation, which we don't see a lot of in municipal politics. But how I'm aspiring to do politics more and continue to keep environmentalism in it is a couple different routes that I'm thinking about. But I, I want to go either federally or internationally. Um, I'd love to work for the UN. I'm investigating what that route looks like'cause it's super complicated and very competitive. But also I've really, uh, learned to love federal politics. There's so many moving parts in Canada. I like how the system that we have is, in principle of course, but I really love to fight things in a way that, yes, I'm advocating and yes, I am going out and doing things like this, I'm having conversations like this with you, but I also like to do it diplomatically and, and sit in those places where we go through all the steps and go through the process and, I can still continue to fight for what I care about in the environment.

John 13:15

Are there any specific politicians who have really inspired you?

Carter 13:19

I'm a nonpartisan. I, I don't necessarily align with one political party. I will say that a, a couple people in federal politics especially who are aspiring to me: Elizabeth May who is the MP for Saanich Gulf Islands in BC and her and I have some very connecting views in how we believe international politics and federal politics intertwine. And working the SDG sustainable development goals into federal politics and working all these pieces, and and she does a great job advocating for, for example, she advocates a lot for how the federal government, in the past, we've signed onto these treaties, for example, the Paris Agreement, and we're not keeping up to the goals that we set and the objectives that we signed onto. So she does a really good job at keeping the government accountable for the environmental lens of that. And she's just a, she's a fighter and she's starting to get to the end of her career, which makes me a little bit sad, but that we're going to lose her in the House soon. But she is really inspiring'cause she advocates strongly. And also somebody that I got to meet while I was at COP 30 was Patrick Bonin, he's an MP for the Bloc Québecois. Very strong environmental activist. And what I really like about him, he has he has this quality that we don't see in a lot of MPs federally, is that he will shift away from his party views because he cares about the environment. He does a lot of environmental activism that the Bloc Québecois doesn't necessarily do. And I think it's very invaluable for our politicians in the house to say, I care about this thing independently and I'm gonna advocate it no matter what my party's views are.

John 15:00

Now you're from Canada's West Coast, British Columbia specifically. Correct?

Carter 15:04

Yeah, that's right.

John 15:05

BC seems like it's always had this reputation for interesting, shall we say, provincial politics. Do you know why that is?

Carter 15:13

I think we have a lot of people who have a lot of different perspectives on how we use natural resources as a government and as a society. I think a lot of that political tension comes from for example, LNG and the way that sometimes the government is flip-flopping in between, are we gonna use this natural resource? Are we not going to? Which voters are we making happy when we do this? Who cares about this issue? Who cares about that issue? And then we see the logging industry is a big part of BC's economy. also a big part of how our environment thrives. So yes, money talks, but if we don't have a healthy environment, we can't have a healthy economy.

John 15:54

I guessed you might mention the forestry industry because it's such a huge industry in BC, but I didn't think about liquified natural gas. Why do you think that's such a big deal in BC?

Carter 16:03

I'm concerned for the human rights side of LNG in terms of the building of pipelines in the farther north in BC because of how it may impact Indigenous communities and our role in provincial governance to reconciliation.

John 16:21

I'm glad you bring that aspect in Carter because several things you've said have had a kind of an undertone of First Nations ways of speaking and thinking. I wonder if you've had some contact points, some, uh, wisdom that you've gained from First Nations Peoples.

Carter 16:38

Yes, a hundred percent. Through that class that I was talking about, that we use a lot of nature-based education and a big part of our class is learning from Indigenous elders and understanding those perspectives. So I've been very blessed to have the opportunity to hear from elders from the Okanagan, from the Syilx Nation that have taught me a lot about environmentalism and how the system worked before colonization, and how it's supposed to work. In terms of the 13 moon calendars is something we talk about a lot about. And they see that, as a result of climate change, those events that trigger their shift in months, is being disrupted by climate change. So they don't have like a set days, like there's this many days in a month. The way that they do it is the months in the moon calendar change as certain events happen. So for example, there's snow on the mountains or a certain berry is, is blooming or salmon are spawning. Um, and that's how the year changes. And a big talking point from some of my Indigenous elders and this community is that calendar is being disrupted.

John 17:47

Very interesting. So much difference in the way Europeans have brought this lens on just the way we do everything really. So it's, it's great to hear of a different perspective in that regard. Tell us about your climate action that you've chosen, Carter.

Carter 18:03

There's so many options, which is tricky for me, but I'm gonna talk about the importance of food in climate action. So I've been, in the past couple months working towards eating less meat. We see that beef is a huge contributor to climate change. In South America, big part of lands are being used for, um, roaming of cattle and, um, that's a big disruptor for climate change. And also the resources that we put into it and, and how it's used has a big impact on the environment. So I've been trying to eat less meat. I've worked in one day a week where I don't eat any meat at all. And I'm trying to do that more. It's interesting how it's, I've felt more healthy because of it, and also I've started to think differently about the food that I'm consuming, so I think that that's really valuable. I find myself choosing more often meals that don't have meat in them as much.

John 18:59

What's your favorite plant-based protein that you've landed on?

Carter 19:02

Ooh, favorite plant-based protein. I eat a lot of beans and chickpeas. I like to put chickpeas in my salads and stuff. I don't think there's a one specific favourite, I love to diversify my, my dishes.

John 19:16

And Carter, final question: what gives you hope?

Carter 19:18

I'm gonna talk about a specific person actually for what brings me hope. While I was at COP, I met, uh, someone by the name of Prasiddhi Singh and she's 13 years old from India. and she's newly got the position of a UNICEF advocate. She is incredibly inspiring for me. To see somebody that young being such a strong advocate for the environment. I encourage you all to all the people that are, um, with us today to go look up for Prasiddhi Singh. She. Has her own organization, that she started when she was very young and she's planted, I believe, over 160,000 trees to date. So stuff like that just brings me a lot of inspiration. People who aren't doing it for the money, they're not doing it for the fame, they're working hard because they care about the issue and she talks a lot about how we view hope, especially in climate action. And I did an interview with her while I was at COP and we talked specifically about: what does it mean to be hopeful and how can we be hopeful in this issue? So people like that bring me a lot of hope.

John 20:22

It sounds like someone we should definitely have as a guest on the show in the future.

Carter 20:26

100%.

John 20:27

Well thank you so much for joining us today, Carter.

Carter 20:30

Thanks, John. Appreciate it.

John 20:32

And thank you dear listener or viewer. If you like what you've heard here today, please tell someone else about it and share the hope. We will be back again, same time, same place next week to meet another climate action figure. Until then:

Carter 20:47

Oh, shoot, I forgot.

John 20:49

That's okay! Until then,

Carter 20:53

Go Figures!