In early 2020, when governments and public health officials restricted large gatherings across North America to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, 16-year-old King’s entire 2020 season of public speaking events was cancelled.
King – also known online as King Zoom the Vegan Kid – is passionate about animal rights. The SelfDesign learner has been an activist since he was seven years old and a vegan all his life. He has met with local government officials, started petitions, and taken part in peaceful protests all over North America – all to speak up for animals and to promote food choices that don’t harm animals.
He has spoken at conferences and festivals across B.C. south coast and as far away as Toronto, California, Utah and Florida.
The organization Animal Hero Kids recognized his efforts with its “Kind to All” award in 2019 and invited him to be their Canadian ambassador, a role that offers many opportunities to continue advocating for animal rights and presenting at conferences, meetings and public events.
So when those opportunities were suddenly cancelled because of the pandemic, King felt at a loss.
“When COVID hit, I felt very powerless,” he says. “I decided to write a cookbook to share my favourite recipes.”
The result, King Zoom’ s Quarantine Cook Book: Plant Based Recipes to Save Our Planet, became King’s grade 11 personal challenge project for SelfDesign and part of his learning portfolio.
King’s SelfDesign journey
King came to SelfDesign Learning Community when he was in grade 4.
“I wasn’t getting my needs met in the public school system,” he says. “I was getting bullied and left out.”
King had been diagnosed with learning challenges. SelfDesign’s inclusive kindergarten to grade 12 program provides equal access to opportunities for all learners, including specific services to support learners with special needs. Once he was enrolled with SelfDesign, King received the support and accommodation he needed to find a learning path that works for him.
“SelfDesign allowed me to follow my own rhythm and make movement the foundation of my learning,” he says. “I was able to take parkour, gymnastics, musical theatre, swimming, climbing and mountain biking.” SelfDesign Support Services also connected him with an occupational therapist and a music therapist.
In addition, because SelfDesign places each learner at the centre of their own learning and engages them in their own, personal experience of learning, King was encouraged to use his interests to guide his learning.
“We see our role as being here to support each learner, to hold them up as they explore their interests and passions and grow, learn and develop,” says Nikki Kenyon, SelfDesign’s Director of Educational Programs. Our goal, she says, is to create “learners that are purposeful and motivated in their learning, resourceful and knowledgeable in how they approach learning opportunities, and strategic and goal-directed in their learning.”
“SelfDesign allowed me to follow my passions,” King says. “I received lots of encouragement from my learning consultant and learning specialist…. I have been able to explore issues I am passionate about, such as animal rights and environmental issues. I discovered that I really like speaking in front of crowds and sharing my story.”
The cookbook project
Developing and publishing a cookbook wasn’t as much of a change in direction for King as it might first appear. For several years, he had been making and posting cooking videos for his YouTube channel, and his grade 10 personal challenge project for SelfDesign was Monday Munchies, his second YouTube cooking series. Monday Munchies follows King as he makes vegan dishes such as carrot mini-muffins, jackfruit tacos, chia pudding bowls, and holiday fruit cake.
“I would film myself cooking or baking,” he says. “It would take me about 12 hours or more to produce one Monday Munchies show.”
For the cookbook, he could also draw on mom Gillian’s experience with writing, illustrating and self-publishing books.
“My mom had written and illustrated two books about me, so she helped me with the cookbook,” King says. “We called ourselves ‘Team King.’” (He says one of the things he enjoyed most about the cookbook project was the time he spent working on it with his mom.)
He started out by writing down what he typically eats for breakfast, lunch, dinner and desert. That provided an outline for his collection of vegan recipes.
“Once I had a rough draft of recipes, my mom and I would make the food and photograph it,” he says.
He turned to his favourite cookbooks for inspiration on how he might organise his own book. He drew on his public-speaking presentations to add chapters on nutrition, how to shop for organic food, what he calls “positive vibes tips” – information about meditation, exercise and such – and other relevant elements.
King and Gillian used an online graphic design tool to design and lay the book out. People whom King had met as part of his advocacy activities provided testimonials to include on the book’s back cover and in its marketing materials.
Although he found the editing and proofing stages of producing the cookbook tedious, King discovered that he has a good eye for detail. “I was able to point out grammatical and spelling errors and details in the photographs as I edited,” he says.
He also found it challenging to get it completed by the deadline he had set. “I had set a goal for my birthday,” he says, which is in late-April. “Setting a goal is important. Sometimes, I thought it wouldn’t happen, but my mom kept encouraging me, and I finished it.”
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Now that he’s an award-winning activist, a sought-after public speaker on the topics of animal rights and veganism, and a published author, King says he wants to add podcasting to his toolbox. He also wants to save up for a drone so he can add aerial videography to his YouTube videos.
It all goes to show how encouraging learners to follow their passions can motivate learners to undertake ambitious projects and learn through experience.
Learn more about King’s activities on his website
