BC teen turns nature walks into climate action
Leonie Murdoch leads guided walks to educate people about how different species benefit from their environment. Photo submitted by: Leonie Murdoch
By Patricia Lane & Leonie Murdoch
Leonie Murdoch believes people will protect what they know and respect. This 18-year-old from Nanaimo, British Columbia, leads guided walks focusing on the agency of species in their own environment. She also publishes regular Instagram stories about the benefits provided by endangered wildlife. Leonie was a recipient of the 2026 NYCAA from the Institute for Sustainability Education and Action (I-SEA)
Tell us about your projects.
Eco-Excursions run guided, themed walks in local parks with groups of a maximum of eight people. I help people understand how species along the route benefit their environment. For example, seeing mushrooms like the Western Painted Suillus provides an opportunity to explain how forest trees rely on underground fungal networks to share resources. Some plants like oak and pine trees and some orchids can't survive without such mycorrhizal fungi. Decomposer mushrooms, also called saprotrophic fungi, return nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to the soil and regulate the release of carbon dioxide back into the environment. I think it is important that each strand in the web of life has a crucial role to play.
Even though Vancouver Island is full of natural beauty, many don’t feel connected to the non-human world and, therefore, do not understand the importance of protecting it. I hope that every single person who has come on a walk with me will have a shift in their thinking.
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