Vancouver Island students gain global perspective through Banff140 and COP30

A group of Pearson College students found themselves hundreds of kilometres from Metchosin this month, dropped into two very different corners of global conversation.
For Esmée Ethridge, Banff140 was a youth gathering rooted in reconciliation and climate action.
She expected an even mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants. Instead, she stepped into a room where Indigenous youth were the clear majority, and the atmosphere felt natural.
“It felt less like there was this divi