2: The Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship: Promoting Young People’s Well-Being through a Sustainability Framework in Ontario, Canada

Healthy, sustainable ecosystems support healthy communities in which individuals can thrive. As importantly, healthy individuals can engage in actions that support and enhance ecosystems so that all living things can thrive. However, by adopting a modern, western lifestyle an increasing number of young people are spending less time outdoors, less time being physically active and more time in front of screens. Consequently, they are becoming progressively more disconnected from the natural world. As children become cocooned in a world of pixels, there is the danger that their appreciation of the interconnectedness of nature and their motivation to protect the living systems that nurture and sustain us all, is lost.