Learning for a Cause

In the autumn of 2007 more than 100 high school students were asked how they felt about global warming and worldwide environmental destruction. Coached by their award-winning teaching, Michael Sweet, these students responded poignantly through the medium of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and art. Their passionate responses were collected and published as Down to Earth.

Down to Earth features forewords by Canada’s First Woman in Space Roberta Bondar and Justin Trudeau son of the legendary Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Down to Earth has received rave reviews from many of Canada’s leaders:

＂Nature has inspired poetry for centuries, and it is clear that it continues to do so today. It is inspiring to see how the students of Lester B. Pearson have responded to the environmental changes we are beginning to witness. There are important lessons here for all of us, especially adults.

David Suzuki
Co-founder of The David Suzuki Foundation

＂Writing for a cause is exactly what everyone should be doing. And, adolescence is the perfect place to start. It is wonderful that these young people (led by Michael Sweet) are able to burst out of the oppressive peer pressure of self-indulgence that has turned youth into market targets. Their ideas will crystallize and grow through this expression and they will be put to positive use, which will be urgently needed in the coming decades.＂

Robert Bateman
Legendary Canadian Artist and Naturalist