This past weekend, from October 11 to 13, 2026, Ontario Nature (ON) held its 15th annual Youth Leadership Summit at the supernaturally beautiful Camp Tawingo in Huntsville, Ontario. Originally known as the Summit for the Environment, Ontario Nature’s youth leadership program it is now called the Summit for Mother Earth and incorporates a deep respect for indigenous teachings, cultures, and the sovereignty of our First Peoples in North America.
The ages of the attending youth range from 14 to 20, and the program is run ” by youth, for youth” … BUT … they welcome Elders into their young circle of passion and enthusiasm with respect. I had been invited as a guest speaker and workshop leader at the first Summit held at Cedar Glen YMCA fifteen years ago. The event disappeared from my radar during Covid when they lost their new site at Geneva Park YMCA on Lake Simcoe.
Then a notice popped up on my email in the spring that there was going to be a Summit at Camp Tawingo. They were back! And it turned out, so was I. Under the leadership of Christine Ambre and her Ontario Youth Council leaders, the three days were an inspirational blend of indigenous wisdoms and ceremonies, up close looks at wetlands and insects and herptiles and birds, the close -up world of nature photography, the impacts of climate change, and the power of finding and using your voice. “I have seen the truth, I am speaking the truth.”
The youth represented a cross-section of Ontario’s cultural diversity from across the province and it was remarkable to see, once again, how complete strangers could become a community in only three days. Our wise elders, Chris and Jackie. kept us tuned into the rhythm of the land and water, and respect for Mother Earth.
As it did fifteen years ago, when I was honoured to help Sarah Hedges launch the first ON Youth Leadership Summit at Cedar Glen YMCA. it re-inspired all of my ecological engines. The Camp Tawingo staff, in the halo of Jack Pearse, original founder, and his legacy, welcomed everyone with open hearts. This Youth Council is the voice of a healthy future for Ontario ecosystems and communities. They know exactly what the adults voting for their futures are leaving them. They don’t like lies, they don’t like media spin, and they want real change, real positive change.
The goodbye was joyful and tearful as the buses left Camp Tawingo.
In my own notes I wrote, “Who will protect Ontario from our own government. from bills that eliminate environmental protections? We don’t need more jails, the Trump threat is overplayed, and the greed for development is obvious. You (Ontario PC Party) are misusing taxpayer dollars to promote an agenda none of us want.
Basically, in modern times, “kakistocracy” could refer to the advisers and government of the USA under President Donald J. Trump, including, but not limited to: J.D. Vance, Pete Hegseth, Howard Lutnick, Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, Pete Navarro, Dan Scavino, Will Scharf, and Elon Musk. Missing on leave, but not forgotten, is the shameless Caroline Leavitt, the President’s pure white Christo-fascist Stepford clone Press Secretary. The President’s delusions now pass through Steven Cheung, his Director of Communications.
This year I will be delivering the same program, “Children in the Woods” to a new generation of youth leaders at Camp Tawingo. Whether it is woods, fields, ponds, rivers or lakes, like Lake Ontario, these youth are on fire to protect their present and future. Theirs is the passion that encouraged me to continue to keep speaking out for environmental policy sanity at a point when I was about to throw in the towel.