The Who’s 1965 song The Kids are Alright focuses on those adventurous spirits – teens – and offers positive reassurance that, despite what one might hear, youth are doing very well indeed and we shouldn’t worry about them.
Anyone remember the song, or maybe even the rockumentary film from 1979? Natalie Burkett, 15, most likely doesn’t but she does live and breathe the musical sentiment.
A proficient athlete and team leader, and community volunteer, Natalie comes by her skills honestly. Her paternal grandparents, Sally and Kevin, met at Talbot Park in the mid-’50s while watching their brothers play baseball. LHS sweethearts, they married and settled in Leaside to raise their family. Kevin coached junior hockey and gave back to his community in myriad ways.
For the past decade Chris, Natalie’s dad, has worked closely with young athletes coaching both hockey and soccer. He also co-chaired the St. Anselm Playground Revitalization Committee in 2018, which turned a parking lot into a vibrant and well used outdoor oasis for kids. (See “The Rebirth of St. Anselm’s Playground,” Leaside Life, April 2018).
Natalie’s own list of accomplishments – keeping up the family tradition – is impressive. She has played hockey since she was 7. She is presently on the under 18A Leaside Wildcats team. She also plays soccer. As captain of the under 15 East York elite girls’ soccer team, she helped lead them to (indoor) victory last winter/spring. She also volunteers with a sports program at a summer camp on Georgian Bay.
But her commitment to giving back is exemplified with her working with seniors with dementia and volunteering with an endangered sea turtle program.
Every Thursday after school Natalie heads to the Ewart Angus SPRINT Home on Merton Street, a residential facility for seniors with dementia. “All students need 40 hours of volunteer service in order to graduate high school,” Natalie explains. “My school had a list of opportunities; I applied and got accepted last year. I have my 40 hours but want to keep it up till I graduate.”
She is a good fit for the role. “I am a social person, so I enjoy talking to people; I spend a lot of time with my grandparents and learn a lot from older people,” she says.
“Each visit lasts an hour and a half; we play word games and do puzzles. One resident, Christiana, from Argentina originally, likes to teach me how to tango! Time there brings me joy.”
Her passion for environmental sustainability took her overseas this past summer with the Hawaii Sea Turtle Conservation program. For 12 days she and the team travelled from Honolulu to Maui learning about how pollution and other destructive human activities are endangering sea turtles, some of which are 100 years old.
She swam with the turtles and learned in a classroom setting about how to educate the public about their plight, creating a public service poster campaign. “I thought all turtles were the same but discovered that there are over 300 species and seven types of sea turtles. Pollution, tangled fishing nets and loss of habitat are their biggest threats, and with education they can be eased,” she learned.
Leaside teens are working hard to make a difference. Kids like Natalie are definitely alright, and that bodes well for the future.
