Background Info
Friends Charlotte Cornfield and Ana Vadeanu started Ch.E.E.P after they attended a youth leadership gathering in British Columbia, Canada in the summer of 2005. At PSYL (Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership), each person/small group had to create a project to take home with them. Since both have a passion for the environment and knowledge of volunteering with children, Ana and Charlotte decided
to start a children’s environmental education program. They found that children were not aware about why the environment is important.

Mission Statement
Ch.E.E.P. is not about lecturing or drilling information into young minds, but rather, it is an interactive, engaging, fun and educational experience that will hopefully foster a better appreciation of the environment, which will lead the children of today to be the eco-conscious leaders of tomorrow.

Program
The main goal of the program is to stimulate young children, ages 9-11 to learn about nature and the environment around them. The plan is to gather a group of children and throughout the 2005/2006 school year meet with them on a regular basis to help them learn more about the environment. The program is still in its initial stages, but Charlotte and Ana plan to have it up and running by November 2005 with a group of children from a TDSB elementary school.

Who is involved?
Upon arriving back in Toronto after PSYL, Charlotte and Ana began planning their project together. As of September 2005, both Ana and Charlotte entered their final year of high school, Charlotte at North Toronto Collegiate Institute, and Ana at Northern Secondary School. To help with Ch.E.E.P, they soon enlisted the help of their TDSB School Trustee, Josh Matlow, and The Evergreen Foundation, and with their input, Ch.E.E.P is starting to come together.

The 2005 PSYL Environmental Awareness Group
Charlotte and Ana were part of a larger action plan group called Environmental Awareness. Here is what the other members in their group are up to and where.

Helke Enkerlin-Madero, Mexico
Helke started a mobile library for children in Monterray, Mexico. After attending PSYL, she decided to add an environmental section to her library to help kids better understand it.

Jacob Jorem, Norway & England
Jacob wants to promote compost in his
community in Bergen, Norway as well as in his school environment at the London School of Economics in London, England. He recently
graduated from the United World College in Swaziland.

Orlando de la Rosa Patina, Venezuela
In his native Venezuela, Orlando plans to plant trees along a river where they have been cut down. He attends the Simon Bolivar United World College in Venezuela.

Amy Sanderson, Edmonton, Alberta
Amy is conducting greening projects in her community and raising awareness about the importance of having green living spaces.

Juan Carlos Soriano, Peru & Canada
Juan Carlos is promoting compost and raising awareness about its benefits along with Jacob,though each are doing so in their respective homes and environments. Juan Carlos is from Peru, and he is currently attending school on Vancouver Island at the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the
Pacific.