In our first class meeting, students shared words that mean hope to them.
This is the combined "hope is" poem from all classes that participated.
The photos below show the photovoice display created for sharing with the school community. The following text accompanied the display:
In this display, you are seeing a photovoice exhibit by Grade 9 students at St Alphonsus. Photovoice is a data collection tool that involves taking photos to share perspectives, tell a story, and share ideas with others to spark change.
These photos were taken during a “Hope Walk” around the neighbourhood on April 22, Earth Day. Students documented signs of hope that they identified. Being able to identify sources of hope can be an important resource to support our wellbeing, especially in challenging times. This was one of the activities that grade 9 students did with researchers from the University of Alberta who have been working with St. Alphonsus students on the “Building Hopeful Futures” research project.
What is Building Hopeful Futures? This research uses participatory action research methods to work with young people to explore how youth experience and sustain hope in the face of climate change. Young people stand to face disproportionate effects of climate change, including impacts on health, wellbeing, and future life planning. This research project was designed to work with ways of strengthening hope and to develop understandings of how work (both paid work and volunteer or community work) can contribute to addressing climate change in our communities.
For more information about Building Hopeful Futures, you can email the project lead, Dr. Rebecca Hudson Breen, at hudsonbr@ualberta.ca.