Rachel Takes Beluga Saving to the Hill

Written by Rachel Marshall, Earth Ranger Ambassador
Earth Ranger Rachel travelled to Ottawa to speak at the Oceans on the Hill conference about why she is so passionate about protecting animals, especially beluga whales. Hear all about Rachel’s three day adventure with everything from her speech at Parliament Hill and meeting the Prime Minister to the best ice cream ever!
Rachel Goes to Ottawa
There’s only one thing to say about my experience in Ottawa-AMAZING!!!!! I had so much fun.  I was there because I was asked to give a speech about beluga whales for Earth Rangers at a conference at Parliament Hill called Oceans on the Hill.  I was super excited and extremely honoured.

First we had a huge drive.  Was not the highlight!  But when we finally made it to our hotel, we were so happy. We stayed at the ARC hotel. It was beautiful.  We got our room key, then unloaded our bags and went to our room. We were staying on the second floor and everything was so fancy in the hotel. Then we opened the door to our room and I have to say it was great: squishy pillows, hot showers, a wonderful view, comfy beds and a flat screen TV!   Everything was perfect, and yet it got better. We went walking around the city and found a great pizza place called Jonny Ferina. The waiter was so nice and the service was great. The best part was it was my birthday so I got a free dessert. When we were done we went back to the hotel and had our first sleep in our awesome room.
The Big Day
The next day, we were all getting ready and rushing around. It was the day of my speech. I woke up kind of nervous but more excited. I wanted everything to be perfect. We met Lorne, our host for the day, in the lobby of our hotel.  He explained what was going to happen and answered all of my questions.  I would be speaking in the Parliament at the Oceans on the Hill conference, but first we went to the WWF office to meet some other people. I met David Miller, former mayor of Toronto and now president of the WWF, two marine scientists Kathy and Lance from the Vancouver Aquarium and lots of other people that work at WWF.
We all went to the Parliament together. We went through the V.I.P entrance and got our own line up to go through security. After that was done we walked around to find the room where I would be speaking. When we arrived no one was there, but within five minutes the room was packed. I was the last one to speak, so I had some pressure on me to wrap things up well. I tried to remember to speak clearly and slowly. Seeing people smile when I was up on the stand talking made me feel more confident. I told them about how I became an Earth Ranger and why saving the beluga whale is so important. I talked about my fundraising efforts and how the money raised will be used to buy underwater recorders to help measure the impact noise has on belugas in their environment.  After I was finished speaking a bunch of people came to talk to me including government ministers, Members of Parliament and other decision makers with the power to help belugas and other marine animals. They all gave me their cards and complimented me on my speech and my involvement with Earth Rangers.  A lot of them told me they hoped I would continue working to save animals and help the environment.  I know that I will!  I would love to work for Earth Rangers or the WWF when I grow up!

Rachel Meets the Prime Minister
After the conference, I was invited to speak with Peter Van Loan in his private office. He is the Member of Parliament for York-Simcoe, which is where I live. He is also the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. He sits right next to Prime Minister Harper in the House.  After we finished talking to him we went to get our tickets for Question Period in the House of Commons. Question Period is a time for the Opposition to question the Government on their policies and decisions. It was very interesting. On every seat there was a translator so you could hear the people speaking more easily. There was a lot of arguing. While we were watching, Darleen, the assistant to Peter Van Loan, came up to us and said that she arranged for us to meet the Prime Minister!!! We all started freaking out. We were not expecting that at all. We waited for the PM in the government lobby. Only people who are part of the government and people who are invited are allowed in there.  When the PM came we got so many pictures with him. He couldn’t stay too long, but we got a couple of minutes. He was really nice.
It was getting late but we still had time to tour around a bit. We went inside the library. I know that doesn’t sound so cool but it is. People don’t have libraries like the one we saw anymore. The one we saw was constructed for Confederation, which was the event that formed our country in 1867. The library was very beautiful and I could tell it was very old. In fact it might be one of the oldest libraries in Canada. We also saw a Rodin sculpture worth three million dollars given to Canada by France after World War Two. All the things we saw and did in the Parliament were so great. I missed three days of school but I learned a week’s worth of grade five!!! That was the last bit of our tour and it was fantastic.
The Perfect Ending to a Big Day
But there’s something that made it even better: Truffles and Treasures, the best hot chocolate shop in the world with so many different flavors.  I got caramel, my mom got Aztec and my dad got walnut. We all shared an ice cream too. It was so good. After that we went back to the hotel, and watched TV till we fell asleep. I was pretty exhausted!!  When I got up we started packing. It was the end of our trip. We had a quick breakfast and then started our journey back home. I said to myself as we drove away, “What a great adventure this was.’’  I felt really lucky to be able to go to Ottawa and give a speech for Earth Rangers and I hope that maybe the things I said will make a difference.

Thank you Rachel for your commitment to protecting animals and for representing Earth Rangers at the Oceans on the Hill conference in Ottawa alongside WWF-Canada and Vancouver Aquarium.  Earth Rangers provides children with the opportunity to protect animals, to improve the environment and to make a difference. Find out more about Rachel and her animal saving ways here.