Welcome!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Stephen and I am currently a teacher candidate at Brock University in concurrent education. 

Over the past 15 years I have had the good fortune to work as a professional opera singer and my travels have led me to all sorts of interesting places. I have always been very interested in nature, wilderness and the beauty of the our natural world.

The pandemic has led to a a huge increase in outdoor activities, from tennis to hiking to camping to biking. Canadians that would otherwise going to concerts, sports events, restaurants or any indoor events have instead flocked to beaches, campgrounds, trails and conservation areas.

While this is undoubtedly a good thing on so many levels, one major impact on our natural environment has been an increase in garbage that has been left behind, unwillingly but many times through carelessness.

Since March 2020, my family has gone out almost everyday for walks in our neighbourhood. An easy way to keep fit and battle the pandemic fatigue, I have noticed that there is not a day that goes by where I do not see discarded fast-food wrappers, bottles, plastic bags and other trash left in parks, on the street or on empty lots or fields.

My Genius Hour Project will focus on trying to not only clean up my neighbourhood trails, parks and streets, but to try to raise awareness around taking pride in where we live. I wonder how this will impact my neighbourhood who I will encounter and how it will affect myself and others? Will it make any difference?

I plan on documenting my findings and trying to measure how much garbage I find, what the most common items are and how to try to change people's way of thinking.

I am very excited to share my thoughts, opinions, successes and challenges on this blog.

Stay tuned!

Stephen