Youth

Lily YangLiu started to worry about climate change while growing up in Beijing, China, breathing in smog everyday. The air pollution was so severe, she developed terrible asthma.

Ankur Patel, a 21-year-old nursing student from Terrace, British Columbia, is helping nurses see care for the planet as care for people.

Summer Sharma and three other students started a coffee shop at Okanagan Mission Secondary School, B.C. They raised awareness about the difference collective action can make in achieving social and climate justice, and donated the profits to three charities chosen by their customers.

As senior organizer with the British Columbia Youth Climate Corps ‘Jobs for Everyone’ campaign, Abbey Piazza is advocating for climate-friendly jobs for every young person in B.C.

Enya Fang, a 16-year-old student in Surrey, B.C., rallies support for people impacted by climate-related catastrophes.

Karishma Porwal uses her influence with millions of TikTok and Instagram users to link their day-to-day concerns to the climate crisis.

Smiely Khurana’s online platform, The Sustainable Act, showcases thoughtful storytelling about the climate crisis, and encourages us to appreciate each other and take action to protect what we love.

Divya Dey is connecting Black, Indigenous, and women of colour to nature.

Through the non-profit Econova, co-founder Aloïs Gallet meshes environmental science with arts and culture to educate kids about the interconnectedness of ecosystems.

Annabelle Liao, a 22-year-old University of British Columbia undergraduate student, strives to increase youth engagement and representation in climate action spaces and at decision-making tables.

Paige Hunter is using art to make climate change more accessible. She was named a Starfish Canada Top 25 under 25 Environmental Activist in part for co-founding the Sword Fern Collective.

Sentences for environmental activists set a new record for non-violent protest in the U.K, surpassing the three-year sentence given to another Just Stop Oil protestor who scaled the Queen Elizabeth II bridge over the Thames estuary.

McKenna Corvello helps youth become resilient in the face of climate change. The 23-year-old Carleton University master’s student works for Mochi4thePlanet, researching strategies for cultivating hope in young people.

Chloe Fraser, a 23-year-old Vancouver writer, was named a top environmentalist under 25 for her accredited university course that teaches participants about the power of stories to motivate engagement in climate issues. 

Shir Gruber helped lead the 2019 climate student strikes. Now she has parlayed that experience into a leadership role with Sustainable Youth Canada.