Text by Kate Rae.

IN 1991, when Jeff Golfman wanted to teach his fellow Winnipeggers about the importance of recycling, he remembered performers coming to his school with a song-and- dance number about not drinking poison under the sink. Figuring it worked (hey, he never drank the poison!), Golfman pulled a group of friends together, crafted a sketch comedy show and brought it to local schools. The first Green Kids Inc. tour was born.

Today, Green Kids Inc. still has the same passionate environmental mission, although the focus has since shifted from recycling to what Daina Leitold, executive director, calls “pre-recycling,” a.k.a. reducing what we’re buying. “When we perform for kids and the public, the messaging is ‘Think about what you’re bringing home. Is there any way to choose the thing with less packaging? Do you really even need that thing in the first place?’ ”

Another strong message the group stands behind is the importance of keeping our bodies healthy. “You are the first mini-environment that you encounter on a day-to-day basis, so keep yourself healthy and fuel your body with [good] foods,” Leitold says. “Junk food is worse for the planet than healthy, whole food is, so in treating your body well, you’re also treating the environment well.”

Green Kids Inc. still visits schools to stage half-hour performances, but it also wants to be a part of the conversations that take place afterwards. Enter the workshops. “Instead of just doing a show at a school and leaving, we’ve developed programming where we do a show and then stick around.” Of all the wonderful feedback the group receives, Leitold favours the kids’ excitement to spark change, starting with “I’m going to…”

The group has also created a program that gives a school all the tools it needs to create and perform plays, with half of the kids in the class becoming the actors while the other half creates everything, from the costumes and props to the set pieces and sound design. Everyone signs a pledge to do it in the most eco-friendly way possible, using found materials.

“Theatre makes it memorable, and it’s fun and it’s funny,” Leitold says. “And when you’re laughing, you’re absorbing information more than if you’re just bored and sitting still.”

Do you know of a Good Place? We want to celebrate community organizations that strive to make life better for all. Send nominations to drivenbygoodmb@caamanitoba.com to share their stories.