- “Working with different people and learning different things about collecting data and different fish and being a leader instead of a follower. Pretty cool having lots of people listen to you and blow them out of the water. Some of those big words I said on the tour, like impressing people and helping people, it helps them learn about the environment. I guess I impressed myself by how I remember all the stuff.” (YERII Participant #6-103)
- “We did quite a bit of work and raised awareness of the place, so I feel like we have done some good. At points there were a couple that said, be calm, speak up. The people on that tour were supporting me as much as you and Ian, everybody was supporting me; it was amazing. If I can deal with thirty people listening to me, I can deal with one. It definitely raised my confidence.” (YERII Participant #18-183)
- “I felt good and it helped me in a way I can’t explain because it’s really hard to. It’s really hard for me to work with people. It’s hard to work as a group. It sort of made me stronger. It made it easier for me to work in a group, the decisions and stuff that we all agreed on. Decision making and being included, it makes me feel better about myself.” (YERII Participant #21-223)
“CLEAN RIVERS AND STREAMS to Wendy Kotilla and her Ecological Restoration Project. Wendy is a wonderful lady who not only helps the environment, but she does it with so many youth of our community. She gives the youth hope and a sense of self-worth while teaching them about the environment and themselves. Recently she held a get-together at the Florence Filberg Centre for the graduates of her project and as a mother of one of Wendy’s graduates I wanted to say thanks for the circle, the song, and the muchly anticipated pizza. Thank you for taking the time to help our kids, who sometimes get off track, thank you for giving them a chance to experience something that they would not normally get to experience and thank you for showing the kids that there are people out there who do care and who do want them to succeed. May your project get all the funding it needs and may everything you do be as warm as you are. Thank you Wendy for everything.” (Author Unknown)