How do you stimulate today’s youth to become stewards of natural areas? Take a group of UNB Renaissance College students and have them invent a new way of placing New Brunswick’s nature preserves on the radar of young people. The result is a program that draws on the visual arts, music and skill development to make a lasting difference to the Nature Trust of New Brunswick.

As part of their Community Problem Solving course at Renaissance College, students form partnerships with local organizations to work on projects within the community. In addition to contributing to community success, students enhance their problem solving, project management and communication abilities.

“The students impressed me,” said the Nature Trust Executive Director Renata Woodward. “We discussed ideas, but they created their own unique project that made absolute sense.”

The students quickly zeroed in on a key to building engagement: for people to care about these unique natural places they have t