The Green Herons
2025 Youth Climate Activism Award - Video Entry
The Green Herons Youth Conservation Projects are from Ontario.
The Green Herons are a passionate group of kids from Niagra, Ontario and they are on a mission to make big changes for our planet! Theyβre tired of seeing native plants and animals treated like trash, and theyβre making sure everyone knows how easy it is to help.
The Green Herons NYCAA video entry.
First up, theyβre tackling plastic waste. They encourage everyone to stop buying single-use plastic and choose waste-free options. Theyβve even shown how easy it is to refill bottles instead of buying new ones at local stores, and theyβre pushing for refill stations in all the grocery stores! Plus, theyβre big advocates for buying secondhand items, saying, βWhy buy new when you can find great secondhand stuff?β
Theyβre also working to restore nature by planting native plants, flowers, and trees in gardens and public spaces to support local wildlife. Their goal is to bring back the bugs and animals that make Ontarioβs wilderness thrive!
On top of that, theyβre helping protect wildlife by watching for animals on the roadβafter rescuing nearly 90 turtles in their community! They remind everyone to drive carefully and keep animals safe.
And when it comes to keeping their community clean, these kids are leading by example. Theyβre cleaning up trash in their neighborhoods and picking up litter, even if itβs not theirs. Their motto? βIf kids can do it, so can you!β
The Green Herons are all about spreading good news, like the story of 8-year-old Nova Solada, who organized the first Frost Fighters event to help the homeless. These kids prove that no matter your age, you can make a huge impact!
Photo courtesy of The Green Herons IG account.
Follow The Green Herons on IG - @the_green_herons
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βIf our club of 20 kids can make waves... imagine what all of us could do together.β
~The Green Herons
As part of the submissions application we asked participants to answer these 3 questions in addition to their essay or video.
What future goals do you have around your environmental and climate work, and do you have any future projects in mind?
We believe that the human race has the opportunity to learn and evolve into a keystone species. Keystone species are species in our ecosystem that produce such positive change they become essential to life around them.
We have hope that by educating people around the globe, the human race can become an integral part of the environment instead of continuing invasive and harmful behaviours.
We will continue to maintain our community clean-ups, native restoration projects, wildlife rescues, and educational videos to make as much of a keystone impact across our region as we can.
Lastly, our youth entomologist is requesting that you stop squashing ants for no reason. He really loves ants.
If you could share one message of hope for your community, what would it be? Briefly explain why you would choose this message.
We have been working on environmental projects for over five years. In that time, we have learned that the power of youth working together can create large impacts on an area.
We are very hopeful that our generation has the power to make the changes we need to bring clean air, water, and soil for many generations to come.
We are inspired by ongoing work in our community by many like-minded organizations, which has proved that we can make a difference if we work together.
If our club of 20 kids can make waves... imagine what all of us could do together.
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
The hope of a thriving planet keeps us working hard, and we are very grateful to all the organizations that support our ideas and give us a voice.
We are inspired by the previous restoration projects in our community that, through years of hard work and dedication, have eradicated invasives, protected habitat, and restored populations of bald eagles, trumpeter swans, and turtles.
We are ecstatic to be a part of learning and helping to restore our land to keep the Canadian outdoors wild and free.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us create action for a sustainable future for everyone. This is all of our mess.