Young people can change the world. You can make a difference for people and nature today. But the path isn’t always as obvious or as easy as we sometimes make it out to be. It’s why taking that first step – trying to create that better world we each envision – sometimes begins with learning from the steps taken by others.
“As an immigrant student, your interests really depend on the people around you, our families. If they’re not interested, nor are you. But when I was exposed to nature, I loved it.”
And Yoko Lu wants to spark a love for nature in us all.
A rising leader, Yoko has been working since high school to make nature more accessible to more communities and to help different communities work together to balance the needs of people and nature.
“First, we need to see nature to think of environmental issues. Then we have to think of our own life and how we feel about the environment around us. Then as you learn and understand the connection, you can find your passion and take action.
It’s why, for Yoko, change begins with education.
“We can all help with nature education. University students can help high school students learn; high school students can help elementary school students. It’s like a cycle, a connection, an interaction. They all can learn from each other.”
And Yoko’s helped facilitate that cycle of learning and bridged divides between communities – and between communities and nature. The lesson she’s learned along the way?
“Even if you fail, just try something and you’ll learn how to succeed. Don’t give up. Be very proud of what you do. Even if it is something small, it can have meaningful impact to the world. And as you learn you can expand that small thing and create larger impact.”
Danielle Marcoux-Hunter agrees.
“I know that my small efforts are combining with similar efforts around the world and helping to make global change.”
Danielle has worked to reconnect young people to their natural neighbourhood, through Canada’s first urban national park and more broadly across watersheds in southwestern Ontario.
Like Yoko, Danielle believes change begins with “providing small, tangible actions for all people to take. First-hand experience is the strongest method I know to bring people together and unite them for a common cause – they can experience the difference their actions make”.
After all, Danielle says, “Environmental change often comes from grassroots initiatives, yet grassroots initiatives require the support of local community members. When a community is disengaged, it is difficult to achieve the support needed to bring forward important issues.”
But when connections are made, people feel empowered and momentum is built.
“Although local efforts may seem small, when combined on the national or global scale, they do make a change.”
It was a local effort that made all the difference in the world to Victor Ng.
“My family didn’t really take me on hikes or anything like that. Being exposed to nature opportunities really made me make those connections between cities, nature and how everything is intertwined with each other. (I get now) how what we do in a city has implications, not just locally or regionally, but across the other side of the planet.”
That was a profound lesson for Victor. After all, as he says, “any city – any community – is ultimately part of a larger ecosystem.”
Equipped with that knowledge, Victor realized he could apply his design skills as an urban planner and answer the question:
“How do we start greening our cities? How do we start introducing wildlife and green spaces back into the city? Traditionally, in the past, in North America, we’ve used lots of concrete, we’ve paved over all our old streams. And now we’re thinking, alright, actually, that was probably not the best way of doing things. We lose a lot of ecosystem services (when we pave over nature).”
Victor is advancing ideas in Vancouver that can help biodiversity everywhere, bringing back those lost ecosystem services. More than that though, we he’s creating a template for other cities to use in helping combat the biodiversity crisis.
“What we can do through city design and urban planning can make a tremendous impact.”
Victor adds: “I think each of us have a specific role we can play and it’s about recognizing where your interests and strengths lie. If someone wants to help rewild their city, become a planner or work with a community group to get some shovels in the ground.”
But Victor’s biggest advice?
“As long as you care about something, it’ll get you to where you need to go.”
Isabella O’Brien agrees, but says, “If there isn’t something you’re super passionate about yet, that’s okay too. It’s totally fine to just explore a lot of different things and enjoy high school. You know, maybe you find your thing once you start university. It just depends on the person.”
For Isabella, she found her calling when she was very young and hasn’t stopped pursing her passion: Using science to advance a better balance between people and nature.
“It started with my first science fair project in grade four. (Calcium build up in lake ecosystems) was a really large problem because things at the bottom of the food chain, like daphnia – which are water fleas – build their exoskeletons using calcium. So, if daphnia disappear, then you start to get toxic algae blooms in the lakes, which is a problem. If you have a cottage on that lake, you can’t drink that water; you can’t swim in that water. And, of course, when things at the bottom of the food chain are threatened and start to disappear, then that has a ripple effect throughout the entire aquatic ecosystem.”
Her ground-breaking research led to international recognition from the likes of Google and Isabella says her early success was possible because of her age.
“When kids do something that’s interesting, they tend to get more attention than an adult, simply because of their age. Let’s say there’s however many scientists all researching issues here, just realistically, there’s not going to be an article about every single one of them.”
And Isabella was grateful for the attention because it meant more awareness for an important issue. Her success is also a lesson Isabella wants us all to heed.
“I think we have to go out and do things. Whether that’s voting or getting involved in a local organization or whatever it might be. If you don’t get involved, things aren’t going to change.”
But change isn’t easy or quick.
Isabella adds, “Obviously, just because one group of people says this is what we want, that doesn’t just mean that’s how it works. But I think even though people are so fascinated when kids do something great, they’re not necessarily willing to help kids do something great, or to help them continue in life – to have a future and continue to do great things.”
But Isabella believes we shouldn’t let that reality stop us. Tessica Truong agrees.
“I think the biggest ‘ah-ha’ moment for people is when they realize that all these systems that feel so complicated and confusing are really just all made of people. And people are just trying to do their best and trying to make a difference in the world, and they need help as well. They don’t have all the answers. And most people recognize that youth hold some of the answers. If we can engage in a way that’s positive and try to build relationships, who knows what’s possible?”
It’s for this exact reason Tessica launched CityHive.
“CityHive likes to think about its work as bridge building. A bridge between young people who are passionate and care about issues affecting their future, but are looking for the connections – the entry points, the doorways – into making a difference.
“They don’t know where to direct their frustration, their anger, their excitement. And there are many civic institutions that are facing some incredible challenges. I think youth have some of the solutions and the organizations need help. We can act as that bridge builder.”
What inspired Tessica’s CityHive initiative? Her own campaign to end plastic water bottle use in her high school.
“When I first started my bottled water campaign, we wanted to get rid of all the bottled water in my school and we wanted to make sure that everyone had access to free, clean drinking water through more water fountains. So, we sat together as a group and wondered what to do, but we didn’t know what the right move was.”
Tessica continues, “We tried everything. We made presentations; we tried to fundraise; we applied for grants; we talked to our principal. We just threw all the darts at the wall and tried to figure out what landed. And now, 10 years later, I can look at it and say – well, we did behavioural change; we did policy change; we did structural change.
“But, at that time, I didn’t even know what those terms meant. And, honestly, it didn’t even matter at the end of the day because we got the result. We were able to get one new water refill station at every single public high school in Vancouver. It was a huge thing for high school students to think that we actually do have power in our community and we do have agency. As long as we realize that, the sky is the limit and you just have to try.”
It’s a lesson Tessica really wants to pay forward.
“I think we already know the problems. What we actually have a shortage of is imagination, creativity and that grit to really wrestle with a problem and figure out possible solutions.
“Youth have this audacity to dream and to be bold – and to not even know it’s a bold dream. Use that time when you’re young to be creative and reach out to an existing community – your school or through sports or a religious group – and get their support to learn and try.
Tessica adds, “If there is an idea or a solution to something missing in your community, I would actually invite you to think – what is my place, and what do I want to bring into existence in this world? Because the chances are, if you’re thinking it, there’s a whole group of people that might also be thinking it too. But they all might be thinking it individually.
“They need someone as a leader to step up and say ‘I think I have a solution and who wants to join me?’ It’s really about crafting that invitation for others to come and be part of your solution – and to make it better potentially – and to grow it.”
If that feels daunting, well…don’t feel daunted! Tessica argues, “When I was 15, there was a lot of pressure to know what your passion is and to know what you wanted to do next. I felt so much pressure to just pick something, but I know now you shouldn’t feel pressured.
“Instead of thinking about what you’re passionate about – you might not know that, you’re only 15, you’re just discovering different things – just follow your curiosities.
Tessica says, “For me, bottled water was just a pet peeve. I never thought that I would spend the next two years of my life working on the issue, but all of a sudden, I was the bottled water person.
“But to follow your passion? That’s too much pressure. Follow your curiosities. If you want to learn more about something, the world is at your fingertips. Find people that know more than you – that inspire you – and ask them how they did it. Try a couple things and see what sticks.”
Like journalism. Journalism? Yes, journalism.
“Journalism still matters. It does every day, in every city and every country.”
Justin McElroy has always explored his curiosities and discovered, in the doing, that that very exploration is how he can leave his mark.
Justin was a youth leader in high school, tackling environmental issues and youth rights using analytics. Today, Justin reports for all CBC platforms and is a Twitter star for his, well, ability to rank things. More importantly though, Justin is producing stories about issues people often overlook – like municipal politics. And his stories are fun, interesting and relatable.
“Every community has a unique backstory and culture that often makes people believe the challenges they are facing are incredibly unique. But it always boils down to the same issues.”
By finding that basic humanity, Justin is showing that what we neglect – again, municipal politics – might be the very platform we need to test new ideas.
“You can’t run until you learn how to walk. And you can’t effectively advocate for big changes around the world until you’ve learned to do it at a smaller level.
“There are plenty of municipalities debating climate change policies. They all know that it won’t make big changes to people’s environment. But many are moving forward because, ultimately, that’s how they can enact change.”
And Justin says that that is also advice for aspiring storytellers: No matter who you are or where you are, “It’s important to try and bring something new to someone’s understanding of a story.”
Justin says, “Reach out to journalists you admire and ask them for advice and feedback. And find ways to start telling stories while in high school – whether it’s on social media, a blog, or anywhere else you can.”
After all, Justin tells us, “Working hard and writing about things one is passionate about is a pretty universal way to build a following, wherever you work.”
It’s why Eva Wu believes “we need everyone to be a storyteller.”
Eva is an award-winning nature storyteller who just happens to be pursuing a career in data analysis, blockchain currency, artificial intelligence and behavioural economics.
It might seem like an odd mix of skills and passions, but that’s just because it’s not the usual lens through which nature stories are told. And Eva believes different types of stories – different types of storytellers – is just the “first step to really engaging populations in natural spaces.”
Eva adds, “Not everyone is privileged enough to always spend time in nature, so having accessible and inclusive ways for people to engage in nature in a digital age is a fantastic way to create relevance.”
It’s why she believes change starts with our own unique view of nature and the issues we face.
Eva reflects, “I think the experiences I’ve had have shown me that there are so many perspectives about the environment out there. Everyone has differing opinions and varying values. To have better environmental policy (we need to) spend more time understanding nuanced perspectives so that consensual decisions are made to best suit the needs of people and the environment.”
To achieve that? Channel that inner storyteller, Eva says.
“It doesn’t have to be storytelling in the conventional sense, but it has to mean that everyone is actively seeking to ensure that they keep themselves informed and are able to share their perspectives with those around them. They could be big stories, they could be small, but I think the key is that everyone is learning and engaging in conversations that they feel passionate about.”
Chipewyan McCrimmon agrees, telling us, “Everyone I meet always says ‘I could never do that’, but the thing that everyone doesn’t realize is that the greatest artists the world has ever seen all started without knowing what they were doing.”
Chip began infusing his Deninu K’ue First Nation culture into the world of art and technology, a process that eventually led him to the world of social innovation.
“My goal is to empower organizations even more by helping individuals find them, support them, and ultimately help them make a difference. Individuals can’t do that unless they know what organizations and opportunities are out there for them.”
And Chip continues to chip away at his goal, working at the intersection of story and business to advance his vision for a better balance between people and nature. The lesson he’s learned?
“The one thing I always tell people is to change their perspective about failure. The unfortunate truth is that you cannot have success without failure, and you will fail more than you will succeed.
“So, it’s beneficial to change your mindset about failure and to realize that the most successful people in the world have failed. Michael Jordan didn’t make his high school basketball team, now he is considered to be the best basketball player of all time (Sorry LeBron fans).”
Chip adds, “I feel like everyone in society looks at failure as a bad thing, but I look at it as a good thing. I don’t wish it to happen, but when it does, I always take time to reflect on why it didn’t work out and figure out where I can do better for the next time.”
It’s why Chip believes we all need to “listen and hear out every piece of feedback, whether good or bad. Do not take anything to heart, but reflect and analyze the feedback so that you can become a better person. I believe life is all about growth in everything we do, and feedback plays a vital role in that process.”
It’s a lesson Lucy Cullen learned while in school and allowed her to realize: “There’s a misconception that you must either be an activist making no money or you’re making a ton of money in an environmentally damaging corporation. There are so many more options than that.”
Lucy Cullen is an award-winning social innovator who is making money and doing good by helping other money-making businesses do good.
“That’s where we are seeing a blend of those things with social enterprises. For-profit businesses that do good. That’s what both of my businesses are. By having strong metrics for environmental impact and being able to scale up, there’s the opportunity to be potentially more effective than just being an activist, while also still having the time to be an activist because that’s still important.”
In other words, Lucy says, “making money doesn’t make you a sell-out.”
In fact, balancing people and nature – doing good and advancing her career – wasn’t as hard as you might think, Lucy explains.
“The biggest challenge was figuring out how to build a business, because we started selling the concept before building the business. And getting confidence that I could be a successful business owner with absolutely no background in business. But I did the research, had amazing support and went through two incubator programs to learn more about building a business.”
It’s the type of process that Brandon Nguyen says can underscore that “it’s hard to achieve economic sustainability without having some sort of environmental sustainability. Inherently the definition of economic sustainability is you’re able to sustain for a long time and if resources (are scarce) in the future, then how are you going to be economically sustainable? And, so, the way I think I’ve grappled with these sometimes-conflicting definitions, is to see how they’re related and realize that you can’t really achieve one without achieving the other.”
It’s why Brandon argues change is best advanced through the marketplace.
“If a big company like Coca Cola, for example, redesigns their packaging, the amount of impact that has on the environment is so massive.”
Brandon wants to help major corporations have that kind of impact, but it won’t be the first time he’s impacted our world. In fact, Brandon’s first foray into changemaking was when he was in just grade five and launched his school’s first environment club.
“A big part of that was just seeing a need in my community and being able to realize that I had – or I thought I had – what it took to fill that need and fill that gap.”
Brandon quickly saw a flaw in the classic student environmental club model.
“Basically, you have all these different individual schools who are working towards building up this environmental stewardship program, but there wasn’t much collaboration between the schools. I saw the potential for such a meaningful exchange of best practices: what works, what doesn’t work.”
The solution? Rip a page out of the business playbook and look for ways to streamline efficiency and scale impact.
“Rather than starting something completely new, I just thought that there was a way to improve on the current system, which is creating this platform, to allow for collaboration. And then also using this platform to raise awareness of environmental education and sustainability as well.”
Not only was Brandon able to coordinate every environment club in Toronto, he used that platform to channel ideas into the largest student government in the country.
“I think the greatest surprise was just how impactful one person can be. And I know that sounds very cliche, but going into the project, I had zero expectations of the outcome and I just was going to try my best shot. If I failed, then I’d fail and hopefully learn something valuable going through the process. But looking back at building up the organization – building up a network of environmental leaders from not only around Canada, but also from lots of countries around the world – I think I’ve realized how impactful an individual can be if they take the initiative to advocate for change where they see change needs to happen.”
Chloe Dragon-Smith is living proof of Brandon’s lesson learned.
Today, Chloe advises Indigenous communities on land management, and has worked with both the government of the Northwest Territories and the federal minister of environment to design their protected areas strategies.
And though still a young leader, she found her voice by helping Indigenous youth have a voice at The World Parks Congress, The World Conservation Congress, The World Commission on Protected Areas, and The Youth Conference on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Chloe believes that working with and giving voice to Indigenous nations has allowed her to advance her vision for change. And her advice if you want to follow in her footsteps?
“If you’re looking to go and start some action, I would say, know whose territory you live on and work on, know the indigenous peoples that have been stewarding these lands and recognize those long-standing relationships.
“They look different in all places. But what’s in common in Canada’s that everywhere you are is the traditional territory of somebody. Make sure that you’re building those relationships and just keep in mind that relationships, they move maybe slower than you would want something that seems so urgent to move, but they’re critically important.”
Also important?
“Get outdoors onto the land yourself”, Chloe advises. And beyond that? Chloe adds, “Start at a young age to figure out how to articulate and how to bring those things that matter to you and your needs to the world in a way that can be understood. That can be really, really powerful.”
Chloe knows that’s easier said than done.
“The rooms I’m in can differ greatly. I can be in groups of young people which is always awesome – peers. Or I can be the only person that’s under 60 in a room with 20 people, and only two others are women and nobody is Indigenous. And, so, I think for sure there’s spaces where it’s difficult to get through and be heard and it’s advice I have to give to myself again and again: Just to keep trying and not let that get you down.”
But real success, Chloe says, is when we work in uncomfortable situations and with people we don’t always agree with. How to do that?
“Take the time to get to know a person and where they’re coming from and their viewpoint. And then have a real conversation as human beings. I think that’s the only way to start that process.”
And don’t forget, Chloe adds: “There’s lots of people out there that want to help you succeed. If you have ideas, you can just start anywhere and life takes you on these crazy little journeys.
“Often, I just feel like a little ping pong ball bouncing around from thing to thing. But you have to start somewhere. If you’re interested and passionate about something environmental or otherwise at 15, then start having those conversations with anybody and you’ll find there’s people out there that are going to want to help you.”