INUVIK - It's been a fun and informative year for students at Samuel Hearne school.

A group of students who attended the annual BLAST (Building Leadership for Action in Schools Today) conference in Yellowknife were recognized for their hard work and efforts.

Community health representative Crystal Navratil has been working with a group of students for the past three years. This year, the group was recognized for their efforts to eliminate smoking among youth. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

The meeting was put on by the Lung Association of Alberta/NWT.

Community health representative Crystal Navratil, who organized the group, accompanied four Inuvik youth to the 2007 conference.

"This year, we were allowed to bring four youth, last year it was only three," she said.

The conference educated youth about tobacco, cigarette chemicals and other effects like second-hand smoke.

"We also show the youth that smoking is encouraged and advertised in movies and television," Navratil said.

Teams of students also set goals for initiatives in their home communities.

"We brainstorm and think of things to do at home that might stop youth from smoking," said Navratil.

Each group is funded by the conference to hold events and other informative exhibitions in their schools.

Navratil said she has kept a scrapbook of the accomplishments and events held by the Inuvik youth group.

Most recently, she said the group made black and white wooden angels.

"The black ones had writing on them about the bad things about smoking, like the health concerns," she said.

"The white angels all had supportive messages on them, with suggestions on things to do without smoking."

The team also organized an amazing race event, which had dozens of Inuvik youth running through town looking for clues to the end of the event.

As another part of their home-grown initiative, Navratil and her team spent the first weeks of the school year plastering up posters in the school, each depicting unhealthy aspects of the habit.

"We also worked with the students to write messages on the glass in the foyer," said Navratil.

The messages included a listing of the chemicals in cigarettes, and even the names of students who were smoke-free.

"We encouraged the students to leave their name if they didn't smoke," she said.