The Comox Valley Earth Day Family Festival on April 23 at Simms Millennium Park in Courtenay will host a Youth ecoForum facilitated by Zac Whyte and Ta’Kaiya Blaney.With an eye to empower and energize nine- to 16-year-olds to take stewardship over their own environments, the producers of Earth Day Family Festival 2011 have come up with a “summit” idea to bring together local youth who are interested — and perhaps already active — in environmental and social justice causes.Blaney, 10-year-old singer, actor and anti-oil-tanker crusader from North Vancouver, will share her songs and stories.Blaney is from the Sliammon First Nation near Powell River and her name means “special water.” Along with singing, songwriting, and acting, she is concerned about the environment, especially the preservation of marine and coastal wildlife.Recently, Blaney made the news when she was blocked from entering the corporate offices of Enbridge, a large oil and gas pipeline company, while trying to deliver a copy of her song and a letter to officials there.The song, titled Shallow Waters, is in response to a proposal by Enbridge to build a twin pipeline to carry bitumen from the oil sands of Alberta to Kitimat, from where supertankers will carry it to Asian markets.Blaney released the song with a music video and plea to MPs and businesses that she doesn't want to see TV images of an oil spill in B.C. like she saw after last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Greenpeace supported her efforts with politicians.“Ta’kaiya is a young girl who represents the voice of the next generation. This voice calling for protection of culture, food and environment is loud and clear. The question is: will Ottawa listen?” said Stephanie Goodwin, B.C. director of Greenpeace.Whyte, self-described as “a pure idealist who mixes irrational bits of realism to build community,” is a local activist and speaker on healing the planet. When he was approached about collaborating with the Festival on the youth summit he was quick to say yes, and bring great ideas to the table.Leading up to Earth Day, White is working with high school students in Campbell River on an Environmental Stewardship Day and a Zero Waste week. His ability to connect and engage youth in important ideas, challenging concepts and thoughtful projects makes him a perfect facilitator for the Youth Eco-forum at the festival in Courtenay.“Zac is an inspirational leader and a truly active global citizen. Through his work locally and internationally, showing that one person can make a difference.” says Craig Kielburger, co-founder of Free the Children. Whyte and Blaney will co-facilitate a question-and-answer session from the stage, and then a series of break-out sessions will be hosted around the festival site on specific topics of interest to youth. Students of all ages are encouraged to join in, bring their burning questions about how to become an activist, and what really matters to them about the environment, and take a leadership role in our community.The theme for the Comox Valley Earth Day Family Festival 2011 is Play in the Forest, and organizers invite friends and families from across Vancouver Island and our island neighbours to join them for this vibrant community building event.Live music and dance performances presented by Vancouver Island MusicFest centre on the theme Forests, Faeries and Fun. Kids’ activities are presented by Our Big Earth and their incredible cast of Community Partners, Community booths and Exhibits are organized by World Community.Earth Day Family Festival is all about getting a deeper understanding for and appreciation of the things we can all do to make the planet a healthier and happier place. All exhibitors at Earth Day are focused on creating interactive opportunities and activities.For complete details, visit www.islandmusicfest.com/earthdayfamilyfestival.For more about Earth Day, see the Go Green insert in Wednesday's Comox Valley Record.— Earth Day Family Festival