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This article was published 20/11/2021 (1595 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brooklyn Piasta is no stranger to public speaking and sharing her concern for Canada’s agricultural sector based on climate change.
After months of hard work and research, Piasta recently won first place in the 2021 Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture nationwide competition.
“I was sitting at home playing board games with my dad and I got an email that announced the winners and I read through the email not expecting much, then I saw my name and it was quite an exciting moment,” Piasta exclaimed.
Piasta, a Grade 11 student at Sanford Collegiate, was able to take part in the competition as a result of winning the provincial 4-H Manitoba speech competition earlier in the year.
4-H Manitoba paid for her entry into the CYSA competition and Piasta was able to submit her virtual speech on YouTube in early September to the 4-H council for review. By the end of October, her speech on the effects of climate change on Canada’s agricultural sector was officially entered.
“For the competition there were five topics to choose from, and that was the one I thought would be most interesting and most current, one that demands current change,” Piasta told The Headliner.
“I understand that climate change is a very large topic within the agriculture industry and affects the long-term sustainability of food production.”
While doing weeks of research ahead of preparing the speech, Piasta found there is a direct correlation between climate change and the recent droughts the prairie provinces have experienced over the last few years.
“Droughts have been a very big issue, with the limited amounts of water we’re seeing these days, it’s causing a decrease in crop yields and amounts of good crops taken out of the ground,” Piasta explained.
“It’s causing a lot of water to be taken out of Canada’s water supply. A lot of the Canadian water supply is being needed to address these needs of water since we’re getting less now these days.”
As a result, Piasta was concerned to find how much water the country needs to take from itself to support the farming sector of the economy.
“I was surprised to learn that agriculture is the number one consumer of Canada’s water supply and the desperate need for water is caused by the lack of precipitation that Canadians are experiencing,” Piasta said.
Piasta has been a member of La Salle’s 4-H Club for 11 years and people are appreciating the hard work she has put in
“I was incredibly proud of her, she’s always been a really good role model and leader of our club and to see her get that kind of achievement was so nice,” said Michelle D’Souza, co-head leader of the 4-H Club in La Salle.
“It’s seeing all of her hard work pay off over the years, because she really puts a lot of effort into everything she does. You can take whatever your interest is and go further with it.”
D’Souza has been with the 4-H Club for five years and has watched Piasta take on car maintenance projects, learn how to run a business has overseen her taking on a mentorship role of leading a sewing group for the club. D’Souza said Piasta, the club’s current president has filled every role and her speech has propelled her as a leader in the community.
“Listening to her talk about it is really neat to see her understanding of such a huge topic,” D’Souza said.
“Her enthusiasm and seeing her commitment to it was pretty cool to see in representing Canada. It’s not something that surprises me because she is Brooklyn. Brooklyn takes what she does and she goes hard every step of the way. Everything she does in 4-H she works really hard to perfect and she’s constantly looking for other opportunities.”
D’Souza works for Canadian Canola Growers Association and can see Piasta becoming an important figure in Manitoba’s farming community while raising awareness of an important issue.
“It’s climate change in agriculture, it’s women in agriculture, it’s these young people in agriculture that are bringing it forward to the next generation,” D’Souza said.
“Just seeing that succession from the older generation to the younger generation is really neat to see.”
Piasta said she hopes to pursue a post-secondary career in agriculture after graduating high school.
Brooklyn Piasta is no stranger to public speaking and sharing her concern for Canada’s agricultural sector based on climate change.
SUPPLIED
Nov. 17, 2021 - Brooklyn Piasta of La Salle, won first place in the nationwide 2021 Canadian Young Speakers forAgriculture competition for her speech addressing climate change and the effects on Canada's water supply. A member of La Salle's 4-H Club for 11 years and counting, Piasta currently attends Grade 11 at Sanford Collegiate and would like to pursue a post-secondary education in agriculture. (SUPPLIED PHOTO)
After months of hard work and research, Piasta recently won first place in the 2021 Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture nationwide competition.
“I was sitting at home playing board games with my dad and I got an email that announced the winners and I read through the email not expecting much, then I saw my name and it was quite an exciting moment,” Piasta exclaimed.
Piasta, a Grade 11 student at Sanford Collegiate, was able to take part in the competition as a result of winning the provincial 4-H Manitoba speech competition earlier in the year.
4-H Manitoba paid for her entry into the CYSA competition and Piasta was able to submit her virtual speech on YouTube in early September to the 4-H council for review. By the end of October, her speech on the effects of climate change on Canada’s agricultural sector was officially entered.
“For the competition there were five topics to choose from, and that was the one I thought would be most interesting and most current, one that demands current change,” Piasta told The Headliner.
“I understand that climate change is a very large topic within the agriculture industry and affects the long-term sustainability of food production.”
While doing weeks of research ahead of preparing the speech, Piasta found there is a direct correlation between climate change and the recent droughts the prairie provinces have experienced over the last few years.
“Droughts have been a very big issue, with the limited amounts of water we’re seeing these days, it’s causing a decrease in crop yields and amounts of good crops taken out of the ground,” Piasta explained.
“It’s causing a lot of water to be taken out of Canada’s water supply. A lot of the Canadian water supply is being needed to address these needs of water since we’re getting less now these days.”
As a result, Piasta was concerned to find how much water the country needs to take from itself to support the farming sector of the economy.
“I was surprised to learn that agriculture is the number one consumer of Canada’s water supply and the desperate need for water is caused by the lack of precipitation that Canadians are experiencing,” Piasta said.
Piasta has been a member of La Salle’s 4-H Club for 11 years and people are appreciating the hard work she has put in
“I was incredibly proud of her, she’s always been a really good role model and leader of our club and to see her get that kind of achievement was so nice,” said Michelle D’Souza, co-head leader of the 4-H Club in La Salle.
“It’s seeing all of her hard work pay off over the years, because she really puts a lot of effort into everything she does. You can take whatever your interest is and go further with it.”
D’Souza has been with the 4-H Club for five years and has watched Piasta take on car maintenance projects, learn how to run a business has overseen her taking on a mentorship role of leading a sewing group for the club. D’Souza said Piasta, the club’s current president has filled every role and her speech has propelled her as a leader in the community.
“Listening to her talk about it is really neat to see her understanding of such a huge topic,” D’Souza said.
“Her enthusiasm and seeing her commitment to it was pretty cool to see in representing Canada. It’s not something that surprises me because she is Brooklyn. Brooklyn takes what she does and she goes hard every step of the way. Everything she does in 4-H she works really hard to perfect and she’s constantly looking for other opportunities.”
D’Souza works for Canadian Canola Growers Association and can see Piasta becoming an important figure in Manitoba’s farming community while raising awareness of an important issue.
“It’s climate change in agriculture, it’s women in agriculture, it’s these young people in agriculture that are bringing it forward to the next generation,” D’Souza said.
“Just seeing that succession from the older generation to the younger generation is really neat to see.”
Piasta said she hopes to pursue a post-secondary career in agriculture after graduating high school.
