KYOTOplus is a national, petition-centred campaign being spearheaded by several prominent civil society organizations, including the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace, Oxfam and Sierra Club Canada. The petition calls on the Canadian government to strengthen its weak environmental policies and replace them with a credible, urgent and effective plan to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. It also demands that Canada votes to extend and strengthen the Kyoto Protocol at a special United Nations meeting being held in Copenhagen in December 2009. Thousands of Canadians have already signed the petition, and you can too! Update: Your calls and emails are needed NOW to pass the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C311) before Copenhagen. Learn how!

Eco Canada is hosting Student Video Contest. Create a short video showcasing a current environmental issue in your community and the professionals working to build a greener community, and you could win $2,000 to green your school! High school students (grade 9-12) - register your team by December 15, 2009 and enter your video by April 1, 2010. For more information and to register, visit the ECO Canada website.

The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program helps cultivate and nurture environmental leadership. The scholarship encourages and rewards graduating Canadian high school students who have distinguished themselves through environmental community service, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and academic excellence. The scholarship grants 20 awards of $5000 each annually, to be applied directly towards tuition, books and other educational expenses for the first year of post-secondary full-time studies in Canada. Visit the website and apply before February 28, 2010.

GuluWalk is an annual event that raises money to support children in northern Uganda who walk at night, to and from their rural villages into the town of Gulu, to sleep in relative safety and avoid abduction by the Lord Resistance Army (LRA). Years of conflict at the hands of the LRA has all but eliminated infrastructure and opportunity for youth. The first GuluWalk took place in Toronto in 2005, when the founders first heard the unbelievable accounts of as many as 40,000 child night commuters. In 2008 more than 30,000 people in 75 cities in 16 different countries took part to urge peace in northern Uganda. Fortunately, this night commuting has presently stopped, but the need for rebuilding is ongoing.

Apathy is Boring (AIB) is a national non-partisan project that uses art and technology to educate youth about democracy. AIB was created to fill a gap in youth representation in politics and democracy. By engaging youth who are disengaged, AIB aims to be the entry point for young people into lifelong active citizenry. Its aim is to communicate with youth using a mix of creative, content-driven projects that engage, motivate and educate. The AIB website is an online resource and a community in which young people can connect with each other – because apathy is boring, and democracy is sexy.

The Starbucks Social Entrepreneurs Fund helps young people realize their natural potential to reinvent their local communities. The Fund is the primary vehicle through which the Starbucks Foundation invests in communities globally as part of the StarbucksT Shared PlanetT commitment to communities where the company does business. Since launching the Fund in 2007, more than $1.5 million has been invested in programs around the world. The Fund is integral to the company achieving its goal by 2015 of engaging 50,000 young social entrepreneurs to innovate and take action and, in turn, to inspire 100,000 additional individuals to take action in their communities.

GenV Campaigns is the online hub for Ashoka Youth Venture’s global campaigns.  Ashoka supports youth in taking action to address global challenges by launching lasting social ventures. Through its campaigns, Ashoka offer young changemakers: mentorship, seed funding, media opportunities, fellowship and networking events, prizes and awards. Check out their latest campaign today!

Polar Bears International (PBI) is dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the polar bear and its habitat through research and education. PBI provides scientific resources and information on polar bears and their habitat to all interested parties. PBI has a variety of initatives in which youth can get involved, including its annual leadership camp and Project Polar Bear, a way for small groups of young people to make a big difference! Project Polar Bear challenges teens (14-18) to develop community projects that will reduce the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere.

The 1000 classrooms project was started by 11 year old James Brooks of London, Ontario in cooperation with the Canadian Ape Alliance. The goal of the project is to get 1,000 classrooms to each donate $3 to buy a dozen eggs for children at a school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The eggs are sold by the widows of Park Rangers who died while protecting endangered gorillas. The widows are given an opportunity to earn an income; the children and the teachers are given nutritious food; and the gorillas are made safer because there is less demand to kill them for food.

The Acacia Female Leadership Initiative (AFLI) was co-founded by Julia Coburn and Shadrach Meshach, participants in the 2008 Jane Goodall Global Youth Summit. The initiative was created out of a desire to foster leadership skills among youth, which are critical in solving the interconnected and complex problems of the present and the future. AFLI’s goal is to support and encourage individuals who otherwise would not have access to leadership opportunities – most notably girls and young women. Because everyone's input is important and everyone's voice must be heard! Read the AFLI newsletter here.

The Society, Environment and Energy Development Studies (SEEDS) Foundation mission is to develop and provide environmental sustainability and energy education resources to support Canadian educators as they promote student literacy and encourage their students to take personal action and societal responsibility for energy, sustainability, and the environment. SEEDS develops educational resources that are objective, easy to use, and fit with provincial and territorial curricula.

Speak Up for Change is a program of ACCESS Charity that provides youth and organizations the opportunity to write about topics such as poverty, education, youth activism, social justice, and current events. Run in the format of a blog, contributors are encouraged to submit articles about a specific topic, which are then published on the site. The program provides students and organizations with online exposure as well as a chance to build their writing experience.

Are you 14 - 19? Interested in finding out more about global issues? On the last Friday of every month (except Dec, Jun and July), the Ontario Science Centre hosts Sci Fri - a unique event with DJs spinning tunes, lounges for lounging, snacks to enjoy, and fun activities like speed-filmmaking challenges. Sci Fri is a great way to connect with others who are actively changing the world and check out youth-produced art, video and film. And best of all, it's free!

The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition (SBYC) is the world’s largest youth-led environmental organization with a global network that spans every province in Canada and more than 60 countries worldwide. The spirit bear is a rare, white, genetically unique sub-species of the black bear found only on British Columbia’s north central coast. There are fewer than 400 spirit bears remaining! The goal of SBYC is to give a voice to the endangered spirit bear and ensure their future by protecting the last place these bears can call home.