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Project Learning Tree Canada launches bike tour to raise awareness

Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada) is excited to launch its Green Ride for Green Jobs awareness campaign today with a cross-country engagement tour to encourage even more youth to work in green jobs and help fill critical roles in forests and parks.

PLT Canada’s Zac Wagman, Green Jobs Manager, will begin the Green Ride in Victoria, B.C., and will travel more than 8,750 kilometres over four months to St. John’s, N.L., on a Montreal-made Picolo Vélo wooden bicycle. Wagman will visit up to 50 PLT Canada Green Jobs employers in 30 different communities across nine provinces, profiling over 25 youths, and sharing stories of their green jobs experiences over social media.

Launched in 2018 with support from the government of Canada, the Green Jobs initiative is administered by PLT Canada, working closely with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Canadian Parks Council, to instil a passion for the outdoors and provide youth with the knowledge, skills and experience that will help them pursue careers in the forest and conservation sectors.

Since then, PLT Canada has funded and committed to fund over 1,600 outdoor jobs in forestry, ecosystem and wildlife management, silviculture and forest health, indigenous forest-based programs, recreation and interpretation, conservation and research, education, and jobs within provincial and territorial parks.

“We thank the government of Canada for supporting the Green Jobs initiative and are excited to be placing youth in a variety of experiences across Canada through our unique and diverse networks that include non-profits, academia, industry and conservation organizations. Since the Green Jobs initiative began, PLT Canada has achieved gender balance in its job placements, and has provided jobs for over 90 indigenous youth – accounting for over 12 per cent of its job placements. Together, we can grow the next generation of forest and conservation leaders,” said Kathy Abusow, Project Learning Tree Canada CEO.

“I’m excited to be travelling across Canada to meet youth working in innovative and high-quality jobs in the forest and conservation sectors,” Wagman said. “There are so many different outdoor jobs out there, and the Green Ride will help raise awareness of them so that other youth might get inspired to participate in the initiative. These meaningful work experiences not only encourage a passion for the outdoors, they also constitute important building blocks that allow youth to acquire valuable knowledge and skills they can take with them should they choose to pursue green careers.”