At Florence Nightingale Elementary, students are taking an art-based approach to climate leadership.

As part of the Cool It! Climate Leadership Training and the AiRS Program, a Grade 5/6 class worked with their school’s Artist-in-Residence to create Art Against Waste: A Sea of Plastics — an immersive seascape installation made entirely from discarded plastic. Hanging jellyfish, sculpted sea birds, sound, light, and interactive elements invited visitors to step inside an ocean shaped by human consumption.

“We wanted to ask where this plastic comes from, what its life cycle is, and how we can use art for a call to action,” said teacher Cara Laudon, whose class collected enough garbage in one week for the project.

Students guided peers, families, trustees, and special guests through the exhibit, asking them to reflect on the system of plastic production and its impacts — from fossil fuel extraction to ocean pollution — with the goal of inspiring change.

The project has since partnered with Future Chicken, helping extend the students’ message into a broader youth-led call to action.

Following the installation, Laudon said her students overwhelmingly expressed feeling hopeful for the future.

“It was music to my ears,” she said. “The project really did inspire the idea that they can be changemakers.”

Supported by funding from the City of Vancouver, the Cool It! Program empowers students grades 4 to 12 to connect climate education and community leadership, inspiring them to use their learning to spark conversation and start shaping solutions.

GET INVOLVED

Support youth climate action by participating in Cool It!. To contact Cara Laudon about the project, email claudon@vsb.bc.ca.

SUPPORTING: ZERO WASTE · CLIMATE EMERGENCY