by Jan Malek
Thirteen year-old
Robyn Hamlyn (right)
poses with Kingston
Mayor Mark Gerretsen
following her presentation to Kingston City
Council about becoming
a Blue Community. Robyn
has shown tremendous
leadership in the fight to
protect water by promoting the Blue Communities
Project in Ontario, Quebec
and Newfoundland.
teen helps turn cities
into Blue communities
For the past year, 13-year-old Robyn
Hamlyn has been tapping into growing water awareness in communities
across Ontario.
It was documentary Blue Gold: World
Water Wars, which was shown in
Robyn’s Grade 7 class that spurred
her into action.
“I guess it was really scary for me,” she
explained. “Before, I had no idea that
the Earth was running out of water. I
had no idea it was going to impact us
and that there was a deadline – that
in 10 to 20 years from now we might
be in the middle of a world water war,
and that scared me. I thought, ‘this isn’t
something we can just wait around for.
People need to know about this, but so
many people don’t.’”
22 Canadian Perspectives Autumn 2012
She spoke to her mom about how
she felt and her mom suggested that
if she really wanted to do something,
she should write a letter to her city’s
mayor and tell him about her concerns. So Robyn did. She put pen to
paper and told Kingston Mayor Mark
Gerretsen her fears about the world’s
diminishing water supplies, and what
this will mean for her generation.
Before the meeting took place, Robyn
decided to get in touch with Sam Bozzo,
the director of Blue Gold, to get advice
about what she could ask the mayor
for. She knew they would talk about the
facts – that the world is running out
of fresh, clean water; that millions of
people die every year without access to
water; and that even Canada, a country
mistakenly thought to have an abundance of water, is suffering the effects
of pollution and misuse.
A few weeks later Robyn received a
message on her answering machine
inviting her in for a meeting with
Mayor Gerretsen.
“That put me over the moon. I had no
idea that my letter would actually do
something and take the attention of
someone so important and powerful,”
said Robyn.
“I wasn’t really sure what I was going
to ask for,” said Robyn. “I thought the
mayor might give me a couple of water
tips, but that’s not what I wanted – I
wanted to do more.”
Bozzo suggested she speak with Maude
Barlow, Chairperson of the Council of
The Council of Canadians | www.canadians.org
Canadians and a lifelong activist who
has dedicated herself to raising awareness about the fight for water. Maude
suggested Robyn could talk to the
mayor about making Kingston a Blue
Community, telling her that would be a
positive step in the right direction.
Despite a bit of nervousness, Robyn’s
meeting with Mayor Gerretsen went
extremely well – so well that he
asked her to present the idea of making Kingston a Blue Community to
City Council.
“I was so thrilled. I walked out of the
office beaming and bubbling. It was
incredible that my letter would actually
bring me to present to Council. It was
an amazing feeling,” remembers Robyn.
In September 2011 Robyn presented
the Blue Communities Project to
Kingston City Council and after some
discussion, council members passed
a resolution recognizing water as a
human right, one of the key components to becoming a Blue Community.
“When I found out, it made my day. It
made me feel like I had really done
something. I felt great,” said Robyn.
But she wasn’t done there.
With her mom’s help, Robyn sent letters to mayors across Ontario, telling
them about Kingston’s recent achievement, and asking if she could meet with
them. Over the course of six months,
Robyn met with 18 Ontario mayors
and Council members, as well as the
mayor of St. John’s, Newfoundland. She
presented at 10 council meetings, two
committee meetings and has had five
speaking engagements, including one
at the St. Lawrence Initiative Annual
Conference in Quebec City. She has also
informed people through the media by
doing interviews with several reporters.
So far, the town of Ajax, the city of St.
Catharines, the city of Niagara Falls and the
Municipality of Clarington have all been
declared Blue Communities. The County of
Norfolk and the cities of Burlington,
Port Colborne and Guelph have all
passed Blue Communities’ resolutions.
Robyn, who started Grade 9 this fall
and is about to turn 14, plans to keep
up her efforts despite the increased
demands of high school classes, which
will make it harder for her to travel.
She credits her mom, Joanne, with
helping her to stay focused and balanced. Her mom helps keep track
of the regular emails and meeting
requests Robyn gets from municipal politicians, as well as the media
requests that continue to come in.
Robyn says she is amazed at how
the Blue Communities campaign
has snowballed and interest has
grown. “I see how things are changing – how all of these people now
know that the world is running out
of water and that we all need to do
something about it. All my classmates – they are so supportive. No
one brings bottled water anymore.
I think I’ve gotten the word out and
I’m going to keep doing that because
I love seeing people change their
habits and do things differently.”
The biggest lesson she has learned
is that anyone can make a difference. “I believe in the ‘power of one’
now,” said Robyn. “I think anybody
can do anything as long as you put
your heart into it. Even the smallest
thing – like writing a letter – makes
the biggest impact.”
The desire to speak out on water
issues also runs in the family. Recently,
Robyn’s 9-year-old brother Connor said
he wanted to help the cause.
“He got up and talked to kids in his
school about what they can do to save
water. He’s been helping me get the
word out,” said Robyn. “Watching him
do that – it’s an incredible feeling to
see your little brother take on something so important.”
www.canadians.org | The Council of Canadians
What iS thE
BLuE cOMMunitiES
pROJEct?
The Blue Communities Project
was launched in 2009 on World
Water Day by the Council of
Canadians and the Canadian
Union of Public Employees. It
is based on the premise that
water is a “commons,” or public
resource, that should be managed and distributed according
to environmental and social justice principles.
A municipality can become a
Blue Community by recognizing
water as a human right; promoting publicly financed, owned and
operated water and wastewater
services; and banning the sale of
bottled water in public facilities
and at municipal events.
Why WE nEEd
BLuE cOMMunitiES
Canada’s public drinking water
system was built at the turn of
the century when governments
in industrialized countries realized
that the only way to contain epidemics and ensure a healthy population and strong workforce was
to provide safe drinking water.
Now, at a time when corporations see the commodification
of water and privatization of
water services as one of the few
stable sources of investment
and economic growth, it is more
important than ever to improve
access to safe drinking water for
all communities, and to maintain
public control over water and
water services.
For more information about how
to make your community a Blue
Community, visit www.canadians.
org/bluecommunities.
Autumn 2012 Canadian Perspectives 23