Saskatoon environmental activist helps newcomers embrace the outdoors

Graeme Hopkins knows what it feels like to struggle. The Saskatoon 20-year-old says high school was rough.

"It felt like, almost like Lego. Like I was being disassembled. And so many parts of my identity and my character were being taken away with every struggle and every failure that I went through," he said.

"So I wanted to rebuild that. I wanted to say, 'OK this is a mess, let's clean it up, let's build it back.'"

For Hopkins, part of that rebuilding is giving back to others in the community. He's on a gap year right now, with plans to go back to university to study paleontology in the fall.

Hopkins said he has always been passionate about the environment, climate change and the outdoors, so it made sense to combine those passions with volunteering.

"I really believe in the incredible power of outdoor activity in forging connections and making people feel welcome and at home where they live," Hopkins said.

That energy and enthusiasm is why the Saskatoon Open Door Society (SODS) approached Hopkins a little over a year ago to get involved with its youth leadership program.

WATCH: Filmmaker Marzia Kamyabi followed along as Graeme Hopkins took a group of newcomers sledding as part of the SODS Newcomer Adventure Club: 

Saskatoon environmental activist passionate about creating outdoor experiences for immigrant youth

22 days ago

Duration 5:02

Meet a Saskatoon environmental activist and author helping bring fun outdoor experiences to immigrants and their families. 

Maryam Wajahat, the facilitator of youth programs for SODS, said she's always looking for ways to get young people out into the community to try new things. 

Wajahat said the collaboration is a great fit because Hopkins is a young person, meaning he can relate to other youth, and understands what they need.

Many newcomers face struggles adapting to a new city or country, Wajahat said, especially when they left friends and families behind.

"We have seen a trend where youth are very aware of the environment and climate change," Wajahat said. "So by having the Outdoor Adventure Club and other programs that we do, it's really great to address some of those concerns that these kids are experiencing."

The Outdoor Adventure Club is open to kids aged 13 to 18 who are new to the city or country. The club brings young newcomers and their families on free outdoor excursions in and around Saskatoon.

Past trips have included tubing at Optimist Hill, kick-sledding at Victoria Park, hiking at a local nature conservation area and riding a horse-drawn sleigh through Saskatoon's downtown river valley.

On the day filmmaker Marzia Kamyabi shot her documentary, the group headed out for a few hours to a tobogganing hill.

Hopkins, Wajahat and the participants were bundled up in heavy coats, mitts and toques to brave the -20 windchill.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time as they zipped down the hill on colourful sleds.

"I'm not such a great painter, not such a great musician," Hopkins said. "But this is one area in which I feel that I am pretty good at the art I create. I create experiences."

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