Hi everyone, hope you’ve all been well ;)
This month was full of meaningful conversations, exciting milestones, and new launches.
What I’ve Been Up To 📈
I attended the National Day Reception in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and Irish Heritage Month. It was an honour to meet Timmy Dooley, Ireland’s Minister of State for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, who also works with the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment. I shared some of the work we are doing at Oasis of Change, including our tree planting initiatives and our expansion into Ireland, especially in County Clare, his home county.
I also had the chance to speak with Vancouver City Councillors Sean Orr and Pete Fry, along with a member of Ireland’s Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, about digital sustainability, the growing energy demands of data centres, and opportunities for future collaboration in this space.
I was also selected as my school’s single nomination for the BC Excellence Award. This award recognizes students across British Columbia for service, leadership, and commitment to their educational path, and includes a $5,000 scholarship voucher from the Ministry of Education. I’m very grateful to have been nominated.
Another highlight was attending the Cursor Hackathon in downtown Vancouver. My team and I built Situate Vancouver, a live dashboard designed to help Vancouver residents quickly access real-time information on accidents, construction, and safety alerts. Out of around 150 participants, we placed 4th and made it to the finals.
Achievements & Highlights 🚀
As promised in last month’s update, Oasis of Change completed its 2025–2026 fiscal year tree planting. This year, we planted 7,144 trees across 14 countries, including 13 new countries added this fiscal year.
We also launched our full transparency dashboard at impact.oasisofchange.com. The platform allows anyone to explore our live tree planting trackers, see the species we have counted, view planting locations across the world, and learn more about our planting partners through photos and site information.
Another major launch this month was the Web-Ready Access Platform at w-ra.org. It is a free online resource designed to help nonprofits make their websites more sustainable and accessible, while also providing guidance on how to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in in-kind technology grants. A launch video coming out soon.
On the personal side, my YouTube channel recently reached 1,000 subscribers. Over the years, some of my older videos have continued to gain views, and this milestone has encouraged me to think more seriously about creating long-term, more professional content around the work I’m doing.
Top Lessons From This Month 💡
One big lesson from this month was to get out and show up. Before the Cursor hackathon, I was second-guessing whether I even wanted to go. I had to wake up early, and I was unsure if it would be worth it. I pushed through, went anyway, and ended up meeting great people and gaining real value socially, personally, and professionally.
Another lesson was to put yourself out there more often. Whether it is posting an Instagram story, sharing a project, or talking about what you are building, it is usually worth it. People notice, become curious, and opportunities often come from simply being visible.
I was also reminded how many scholarships are available in the final years of high school. Taking time to write out your experiences, achievements, and volunteer work can be extremely valuable. I found it especially helpful to organize that information clearly and use it as a foundation for applications.
Productivity tool of the month
Wispr Flow is an AI-powered dictation tool that has been saving me a huge amount of time. In just over two weeks, I dictated more than 100,000 words with it. The accuracy has been incredibly impressive, and it has quickly become one of my favourite productivity tools. Get a month for free and check it out: https://wisprflow.ai/r?SUPA8
Quotes 💬
“We’re rewarded in public, for what we practice in private”
— Shaan Puri
Curious about my past adventures?
Catch up on all my previous updates in the newsletter archive. You never know what gem you might find!
Shoutouts 👏
Shawn Esquivel and Taylor Kartavicius for helping improve AI literacy in Vancouver by hosting events like the Cursor Vancouver hackathon. I had a great time attending and appreciated the energy they brought to the community.
What’s Next? 🚀
A redesign of the Oasis of Change website to make it more sustainable and visually appealing
More partnerships and social media content currently in the works
The upcoming launch of the Vancouver Centre for AI Safety, Sustainability, and Ethics (VCASSE) website
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Onwards and upwards,
Gabriel Dalton
P.S. Want more behind-the-scenes? For more in-depth discussions, check out my LinkedIn or Medium profiles.