Canadian Youth Climate Action Awards
Past winners
2023 Canadian Youth Climate Action Award winners
Congratulations to all our applicants and winners of the inaugural Canadian Youth Climate Action Award. We gave out six prizes in total and were greatly impressed by the number and quality of the applications we received.
Our first prize went to the Stratford District Secondary School's Deep Roots program (photo of participants seen left). Presented in partnership by Pivot Green and the Small Change Fund, the award celebrates young people across the country who are taking meaningful action against climate change. Thanks to our partners at the Small Change Fund and our many generous donors, we were able to recognize several youth-led projects making a localized, intergenerational impact.
2023 award winner profiles
First prize: SDSS Deep Roots
In this creative project, Grade 10 students joined with seniors to build an intergenerational garden on the school site. They flipped the script on cutting grass and are instead cultivating vegetables and berry plants. The group celebrates its harvest each year with a communal dinner. Along with protecting carbon in the soil and increasing biodiversity, an important bi-product of the program is the bonds and friendships students have formed with seniors in the community. Read more...
Runner-up award: CityHive Climate Programs
CityHive is on a mission to transform the way that young people are engaged in shaping their cities through decision-making, city planning, and urban sustainability issues. Their climate action programs provide youth with the knowledge, skills, and agency to take place-based and relevant climate action. Their workshops and lab programs bring together youth from diverse backgrounds to tackle climate issues on a local scale. Read more...
Runner-up award: East Scarborough Seed Library
The award recognizes a mobile seed library that provides food-producing seeds free of charge to East Scarborough community members. The mobile seed library consists of two small cabinets that house a variety of seeds, that travels to different pop-up locations within East Scarborough each year. The group has developed a website with easily accessible information about how to grow each seed type, including our innovative digital seed-growing guide and printed seed information cards that serve as beginner-friendly gardening resources. Read more...
Our honourable mentions
We had so many worthy applications for the Canadian Youth Climate Action Award we decided to award three additional projects with an honourable mention prize of $250. Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program, Regenesis Cycle York and Community Climate Council were all recognized for their achievements in fighting climate change. Read more...
