Youth Climate Activists
IN THE NEWS
BC student fought her school board for composting and recycling
In Grade 10, Melody Silva began pressing her Saltspring Island, BC, school to provide plastic recycling and composting. To her frustration and despite a strong economic argument and widespread student and community support, the school board remains mostly intransigent.
BC teen turns nature walks into climate action
Leonie Murdoch, 18, of Nanaimo, BC believes people will protect what they know and respect — and so she leads guided walks and publishes Instagram videos that focus on wildlife within their own environments.
A Calgary teen turned fruit peels into a plastic-free farming solution
Gayatri Sakharkar has invented a substitute for agricultural plastic film that leaves no toxic trace because it is made from orange and pineapple peels. She is a 15-year-old, Grade 10 student from Calgary.
Student climate leader is rallying youth to take on the plastic crisis
Payal Mehta has a plastic dream. This young climate leader from Guelph, Ont., was named a 2026 Starfish Canada Fellow for her work starting Reimagining Plastic , a youth-led initiative to raise awareness and take action on the impact of plastics in our environment and bodies.
Toronto teen is passing climate hope on to children — one story at a time
Ahmad Chattha is passing on climate hope to the children who come next. This 18-year-old Toronto highschool student is determined to ensure that young children have stories of climate hope and resilience to lift them up.
BC youth builds community power to drive environmental change
Ashton Kerr connects and empowers people to take action for the environment. As acting director of partnerships and programs for Green Teams Canada, this 28-year-old North Vancouver resident shares the power and value of community organizing to create meaningful change.
Montreal student turned a thrift fashion show into an annual college tradition
Anne Liang, a 19-year-old Dawson College student in Montreal, organized and ran a thrift fashion show so successful that the college now plans to make it an annual tradition.
Vet student teaches youth how climate change impacts wildlife and human health
Veterinary medicine student Mikayla Astroff earned a Starfish Canada 2026 Climate 75 Fellowship for her work helping youth understand the impacts of climate change on our ecosystems.
A Montreal youth hosts Climate Death Cafés to help people grieve a changing planet
Victor Yin shows people they are not alone in their grief and mourning over the climate. With his co-facilitator Christina Joy, the 25-year-old from Montreal hosts “Climate Death Cafés” to create safe spaces for these conversations. Victor is a 2026 Starfish Canada Climate75 Fellow.
Meet the young researcher trying to stop an invasive crab from threatening Pacific marine ecosystems
Sofia Panzetta is helping restore balance to Pacific marine ecosystems. As climate change warms the ocean, the invasive European Green Crab thrives, threatening the health of clams, mussels and even salmon stocks.
Montreal teen develops tool for teaching kids about climate change
Leila Pozzi is making it easier for children and youth everywhere to talk about climate change. This 19-year-old Starfish Canada Climate75 Fellow from Montreal has developed and tested a framework to allow teachers and student leaders, regardless of geography or social context, to engage young audiences.
BC teen's mission is to amplify voices impacted by climate change
Isabella Wen helps those directly impacted by climate change find their voice. This 18-year-old high school student from Surrey, British Columbia, is a Starfish Canada 2026 Climate75 Fellow. She is also media team lead for the food sovereignty conversation hosted by UBC’s Health Together project.
Vancouver sound artist turns music, stories and science into blueprint for living with nature
Mendel Skulski applies the art of conversation in service of a livable future. As a sound artist, this young Vancouverite co-produces Future Ecologies, a podcast exploring our relationships with the natural world, layered with stories, science, music and soundscapes.
Helping young people process climate anxiety and take action
With a belief that the climate crisis is as much an emotional and mental challenge as a physical one, 23-year-old Brampton, Ont. native Jashan Gill leads operations for Green Mind Canada, which aims to equip young people with the tools they need to process what is happening and take meaningful action.
A young Torontonian is connecting sustainable cafés with customers who care
Kiethan Theva is shifting Toronto’s coffee-drinking culture. The 23-year-old from Scarborough, Ontario, is building a network to help sustainability-minded cafés and values-aligned customers find each other.
Young wildlife biologist shows communities how 'conservation begins with connection'
Jacob Gerard, a 23-year-old wildlife biologist, storyteller and photographer from Ajax, Ont., has created a beautiful web-based story map called Neighbours of the North to help people protect the wild creatures that live among them.
Saskatchewan student explores industry and Indigenous land restoration concepts
Mackenzie Burnett explores the overlap between extractive industry and Indigenous concepts of land restoration. She also draws people into conversations about climate solutions in her work with Climate Justice Saskatoon and the Saskatoon Climate Hub.
Young leader harnesses AI to help streamline sustainability disclosure
Fatou Dieng, a 29-year-old Montrealer originally from Senegal, was raised to see the earth as the source of all life. Now, she dedicates hers to protecting it.
Want to cut emissions? Young advocate says tax the rich — and what they own
Many are tempted to focus on taxing luxury consumption, but this University of Toronto PhD student says they should aim bigger: rather than just focus on what the rich are consuming, policymakers should also keep their investments in mind.
Charting her own course in the climate movement
Melody Li is designing her own path toward a fairer, more climate-adaptive future. In 2026, she will focus on her own project, Meals That Matter, helping people in vulnerable and marginalized communities see food that would otherwise be wasted can be redirected to provide delicious, culturally appropriate and climate-friendly meals — while keeping food out of landfills.