Melody Silva
2026 National Youth Climate Activism Essay Entry
Melody is a 17 year old from BC.
My name is Melody Silva, and I am a climate advocate. When you live your whole life deeply connected with nature, it is impossible not to care when it is being harmed. My generation was born into the world burdened with the task of fixing the mistakes of our predecessors, and I can tell you, from personal experience, it's a heavy load. This is why, three years ago, I restarted the high school Earth Club. My goal is not only to advocate for the place I call home but to help alleviate climate anxiety, a sickness that affects me, and a countless number of my peers. I have found the best cure is taking action.
One way that I advocate for the environment is through art. In the Spring of 2024, I directed and produced a documentary on the harmful effects of Fish Farming on BC’s wild salmon population and, by extension, the entire coastal ecosystem. I was privileged to interview two Kwak’waka’wak elders as well as the executive director of Clayoquot Action (an environmental non-profit) to get their perspective on the issue. My documentary was presented at my school to raise awareness.
Melody getting footage for her documentary.
Dan Lewis, Director of Clayoquot Action, with Melody Silva (2024)
I have also competed in the Canadian Improv Games national finals, where I used the stage as a platform to speak about climate injustice. The performance was not only seen by live audience members at the National Arts Centre, but by countless viewers across the country as it was live-streamed. Art can be a powerful tool when it comes to climate advocacy, but I have also used science to better understand the issue of climate change and how to deal with it.
Last semester, I led a research team doing a preliminary study on the relationship between moss and soil microorganisms for the Salt Spring Climate Adaptation Research Lab. This work helped the scientists on Mt. Maxwell identify an overall lack of microorganismal activity in the soil that they will be doing follow-up studies on. I learned so many real-world skills that I will put into use next fall, when I am at UVIC taking Geography and Environmental Studies. This program will teach me invaluable lessons on understanding humans in relation to the natural world and will be the perfect undergrad before earning my law degree in environmental law.
Click to read Melody’s submitted article on Gulf Islands Driftood newspaper.
Four years of volunteering with Transition Salt Spring (a local environmental non-profit) has influenced my approach as Earth Club leader. I have been inspired to initiate “eco-events”, including clothing swaps, gift swaps, and repair cafés, which divert many perfectly good items from the landfill, while teaching students good consumer habits.
Melody with Grace and Susan at a Salt Spring Island Repair Cafe
I am spearheading a Youth Climate Advocacy Training Program that includes informational workshops at lunch and will culminate in designing and implementing a plastic recycling system at GISS next week! Many of my peers have told me that my involvement gives them hope and inspires them to fight climate change. That in itself makes all the hours I put into climate advocacy worth it a thousand times over.
Photographs taken by Christopher Roy at GISS during Earth Day Pile Up. Project coordinator Fig Mulder points out Garbage vs Recycle and Compost to Georg Janssen and Anne McKague after Earth Club students sort waste from Garbage bins. READ FULL ARTICLE ON SALT SPRING EXCHANGE
“We want change” says Melody Silva, student lead of the initiative. “Climate advocacy is a responsibility we all share, and this project is a way to make tangible change in a world where so much feels outside our control.”
click to read the full post on Facebook
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?
Climate advocacy is not only something that I do, it’s part of my identity, and I certainly have some pretty lofty goals in terms of “future projects”. Next fall, I will be going to UVIC to study Geography with a minor in Environmental Studies which will set me up to get my law degree to become an environmental lawyer. As sad as it is, it often feels like policy is the only way to make change above the grass-roots level (although that is very important too!) I hope to push for policy that reflects the severity of the climate crisis.
Although I have big plans for my future, I will continue to lead climate action on the community level in the meantime. For example, just next week, I am leading a recycling pilot program at my high school. We will compile data about how much waste we are able to divert from the landfill before doing a presentation to the School Board in June. My goal is to persuade the administration to permanently implement plastic recycling at my school, and ultimately act as a model for schools across the province.
If you could share one message of hope for your community, what would it be? Briefly explain why you would choose this message.
A message of hope that I often like to remind my peers of is that being a climate advocate isn’t about being perfect, it’s about taking small steps to create a big impact. Around 40% of global CO2 emissions in Canada are attributed to household consumption. What this demands is a cultural shift. Not only a lifestyle shift, but a mindset shift because if we believe in it, we can make real, tangible change! We just need to remember that we -humans- aren’t just bystanders watching the natural world suffer, we are nature, and we can be the solution.
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
My passion for working on climate change doesn’t just come from one source, it’s the culmination of my lived experience and teachings that I have learned from people and the natural environment. I have been privileged to grow up surrounded by nature and have learned many invaluable life lessons from this upbringing. When you begin to look closely into how natural systems work, you soon realize that everything acts in reciprocity. To me, climate action is reciprocity to the land and seeing other youth and environmental groups speak out about climate change both fills me with gratitude and ignites me to get involved.
On a more personal level, my Grandpa was one of the main organizers of the Mears Island logging protests, so climate action has deep roots in my family. Seeing success stories -like Mears Island- give me hope for the future, and inspire me to do the same!