Tara Campbell was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Growing up she spent her summers in northern Manitoba with her family, where she fostered a passion for nature and being active outdoors. She is passionate about how to engage others in the movement to make the local and global community more sustainable. Find out more about her idea for Plant.Eat.Grow here!
Q: Thinking back to the Youth Innovation Summit, what did you see as an opportunity from participating in it?
I think the opportunity was being with so many like-minded people who are all striving for a better tomorrow, which may sound cliché. I found that even on the training weekend in Winnipeg, and then again at the Summit, being surrounded by such motivated young people, by people who really want to make the world a better place was encouraging.
Q: What have you been working on since we saw you at the Summit?
Over the summer, I worked for FortWhyte Farms in Winnipeg, a social enterprise that has similar attributes to the idea for my social enterprise, Plant.Eat.Grow. Throughout the summer I would say little things about my idea and it was interesting to hear that my colleagues, who had helped grow FortWhyte Farms, had similar ideas when they first started. I saw how different things that had taken place made them make certain choices, how some things worked really well and some things had not worked the way they wanted them to, so they changed them. Growing a social enterprise is a learning process, there isn’t just one way that’s the only way.
Q: Tell us more about why you are passionate about working around themes of Indigenous Food Sovereignty and youth?
When you work with youth, the whole world is at their feet: they can educate their parents, they can educate their community. They’re at a really great place in their lives where they can change the world and I think that by instilling those seeds, that passion and power you can see the way they grow and change their life. Living in Canada it is important to work hand in hand with the Indigenous community to build a stronger community. Indigenous Food Sovereignty has huge roots in being able to be self-sufficient and I realised that a lot of the things that I’m passionately interested in, particularly youth and public health, are all encompassed in Indigenous Food Sovereignty. I truly believe that people are entitled to not just food security but to Indigenous Food Sovereignty.
Q: What are the next steps for you?
I’m starting my Masters of Science in Public Health at Glasgow Caledonian University. I’m really excited and I chose that university specifically because it had a placement option which was really important to me for continuing my education. I’m really excited about that next step forward to build my education, build my research, and build my capabilities towards being more of a global citizen. The Masters programme, and Glasgow Caledonian University in general, is very committed to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Interviewers:The ACSE Team