Patricia Lane

Columnist | Victoria
About Patricia Lane
Patricia Lane's column gives voice to climate leaders across Canada, in their own words. They are mostly young but some showcase elders whose focus has shifted to climate in their later years.
Patricia specialises in collaborative decision-making, public policy creation and effective climate communication. As a lawyer, she worked in every region in Canada in diverse areas such as tax policy, human rights, economic development, restructuring health care, family law and labour law, human rights, securities law, climate change, real estate and land development, wilderness protection, renewable energy, housing, and Aboriginal rights and title.
Generations working together on climate action
Erlene Woollard is a Suzuki Elder who works on many climate-focused projects. She partners with diverse youth climate activists to organize and deliver intergenerational workshops.
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 Salt Spring Institute for Sustainability Education & Action (I-SEA) Youth Climate Activism Award.
'Two-Eyed Seeing' embraces our natural and cultural heritage
Dr. Albert Marshall is a Mi’kmaq Elder who helped build understanding of the concept of “Two-Eyed Seeing.”
There are good livings to be had in a clean economy
Our organization's mission is to present students with pathways to alternative careers that reflect their values.
'Hope isn't what we have, it's what we do,' says climate activist
At 79, Mary Anne Pare prefers to think of retirement as “re-firement. She is very active in climate and reconciliation work, lives on Pender Island in the Salish Sea of British Columbia, and believes "hope isn't what we have, it's what we do."
Helping farmers access cheaper power with solar panels
Sonia Vinogradova is helping small farmers gain more energy independence. This 25-year-old woman from Montreal and her business partner, Joe Workentin, broke new ground, persuading regulators to allow solar panels on the BeetBox Co-op Farm’s barn. The panels will supply 20 per cent of the farm’s electricity.
How to protect a sliver of sea
Zaida Schneider is spending his retirement protecting a sliver of the Salish Sea — False Creek — near his home in downtown Vancouver.
How to electrify without causing further harm: reusing minerals
Natasha Kumari cleans up after mining companies. This 31-year-old from Burnaby, British Columbia, is vice president of marketing and operations for Tersa Earth, which uses nature-based solutions to clean the water in mining tailings ponds and reuse the minerals.
How a nursing student champions environmental health in healthcare community
Ankur Patel, a 21-year-old nursing student from Terrace, British Columbia, is helping nurses see care for the planet as care for people.
Integrating the benefits of nature into cities
Patricia Dijak is spending her retirement persuading local governments to design climate-adapted cities.