Grade 7 and 8 students from across St. Clair Catholic showcased bold ideas and entrepreneurial thinking at this year’s One Future Finals, held May 23 at Lambton College. The event, hosted by Enactus Lambton, was the culmination of a 10-week program that challenged students to identify a community need and develop a meaningful solution aligned with one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
One team of students from St. Michael, Bright’s Grove earned top honours among St. Clair Catholic teams, with their project Ballin’ for a Better Tomorrow taking home second place overall. The student-led initiative combined environmental action and youth engagement through a 3-on-3 basketball fundraiser that supports biodiversity. Funds raised go toward producing and distributing “flower bombs” — small bundles of native seeds designed to attract pollinators and boost local ecosystems.
“Our girls not only represented St. Michael beautifully, they stood proudly alongside Grade 12 students at the WonderLEAD Conference in Canada’s Wonderland just weeks earlier,” said teacher Kelli Houle. “They’ve shown incredible leadership and a genuine commitment to building a better tomorrow.”
The team — Ivy Howell, Leah Griffiths, Gia Cantalini, Ella Medeiros, and Julia Yarkovsky — were recognized by the WonderLEAD committee and awarded two Canada’s Wonderland tickets to raffle off in support of their project.
“All of the projects we saw today are incredible examples of young people caring about their local or global community and taking action to make a change for the better,” said Chris St. Amand, Experiential Learning Coordinator at St. Clair Catholic. “It’s inspiring to see students caring about the future world they will live in. The skills, empathy, and poise the students will take from this One Future experience enhance the already amazing things happening in their classrooms.”
This year’s One Future initiative engaged more than 270 students across both St. Clair Catholic and Lambton Kent District school boards. With support from Enactus Lambton College, students raised over $7,600 in support of their projects. Finalists competed in front of a panel of community judges for the chance to earn cash prizes, generously provided by Bluewater Power.
