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.
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.
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.
Alberta teen helps young people to influence decision-makers
Seeing parallels between Canada and his mother's hometown in India, Mihir Rao realized his own stories of the impacts of climate change on the places he loves needed to be told.
Earthly Bros' collect and recycle used electronics
Alexandre Bourré and his brother, Samuel, will help you declutter your home, reduce landfill waste and assist Canadians in need. The teenager from Richmond Hill, Ont., started Earthly Bros, working with the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) to collect used electronics and make them useful to people who cannot afford new equipment.
Student upcycles badminton birdies bound for landfill
Anya Yang turns badminton birdies bound for the landfill into useful works of art. This 17-year-old highschool student from Markham, Ontario, co-founded Birdie UP Canada to sell upcycled birdies. The group sends birdie proceeds to the World Wildlife Fund and other charities engaged in social and environmental justice.
Student launches reusable cup initiative at local coffee shops
Abby Van Helvoirt thinks globally and acts locally. This 13-year-old, Grade 8 student from Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, builds networks, relationships and partnerships to reduce waste.
Student paints a more environmentally-friendly future
Claire Lee is painting a safer future. This 16-year-old highschool student from Surrey, British Columbia, invented a recipe for high-quality, non-toxic, plant-friendly watercolour paints.
When age isn't an obstacle to climate action
Elle Larsen, a 14-year-old student from Saanich, BC, has been helping shape a better future since she was eight. This fall, as she enters Grade 9, she is intent on transforming beverage services at the University of Victoria.
Student helps others step into the future
Quinn MacAskill helps us imagine a better future. This 20-year-old Dalhousie University student asks groups, 'What is your dream for your community?' Then, she helps participants work together to step into that future.
Teen urges others to embrace climate education
Lily YangLiu is a social media educator and advocate who ensures youth voices are represented at international climate talks. This 16-year-old also advises the BC government on climate curriculum and is designing a 135-hour climate education program for elementary school students.
Wandering and learning about Canada's wild spaces
Graeme Hopkins is passionate about immersing young people in nature. This 20-year-old from Saskatchewan takes groups of youth, aged 13 to 18, into wild spaces in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
From sugarcane paper to shoreline cleanups: How one teen built a climate movement
Alexandra Chow encourages students to collaborate, so they increase their impact on the climate crisis. This 18-year-old from Vancouver was a 2024 winner of The I-SEA Youth Climate Activism Award for bringing together high school students from seven Vancouver schools.
Rallying support for people impacted by climate disasters
Enya Fang rallies support for people impacted by climate-related catastrophes. This 16-year-old, Grade 12 student at Southridge School in Surrey, B.C., won a 2024 Youth Climate Activism Award from I-SEA Canada for raising awareness and over $10,000 since setting up the not-for-profit Evergreen Collective in 2021.
At 18, this Yukon activist turned school climate strikes into council meetings
Ella Bradford uses student climate strikes to raise awareness in Yukon. This 18-year-old student is a recipient of the I-SEA 2024 youth climate activism award for her high school leadership of the “Fridays for Future Yukon” student movement.
The Art of Youth Climate Activism
Finnegan Brown is using art and political action to protect our climate. This 16-year-old high school student from Sooke, B.C., received a 2023 I-SEA Youth Climate Activism Award for an essay featuring his nature sketches, urban design ideas and his presentation of a private member’s bill at the 2023-24 B.C.
FIRST PERSON —How embracing empathy helped me in my fight for the climate.
Climate striker Teegan Walshe shares how empathy changed the way she talks with people who oppose climate action. Through conversations in her hometown of Qualicum Beach, she found that listening and building connections can help shift perspectives.
University student wins award for climate action.
Anna Erickson has been organizing real action on climate change since she was eight years old. Now 18, this Victoria, B.C., green, civil engineering student won a Youth Climate Activism Award from the Institute for Sustainability Education and Action (I-SEA) for getting her Grade 3 class to collaborate with her and a friend in writing, illustrating and publishing a book for other elementary school students.