We had so many great applications to our Canadian Youth Climate Action Award that we decided to create an "honourable mention" category to recognize the great work being done by youth-led groups across Canada. Here are the additional projects we chose to celebrate:
Community Climate Council
The Community Climate Council is a platform for community-led climate action based in Peel region, Ontario. They are a youth-founded, not-for-profit organization advocating for local climate action through enhancing political advocacy and climate literacy. Their projects include a living-laboratory climate hub, climate cafe spaces, organizing climate strikes, nature-based education, and a book compilation of essays, stories, and poems on climate change by BIPOC youth.
Regenesis Cycle York
Regenesis Cycle York’s mission focuses on the accessibility and affordability of cycling as a mode of transportation and beyond. As a do-it-yourself bicycle centre, it empowers community members through participation in workshops, DIY repair sessions, group rides, and the building of a community of cyclists of all ages, gender, races, and backgrounds. The goal at Cycle York is not only to get more people to use bikes but also to make cycling and its community more accessible to groups not often represented.
Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program
The Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program (SSAP) is a student-run initiative designed to help local sustainability initiatives at McMaster and in the local Hamilton Area co-ordinate their work and overcome organizational silos. This year SSAP organized three major events: an SSAP Sustainability Bonfire Night, Sustainability Educational Club Night, and our SDG Week Sustainability Fair. These events brought together over 650 students, staff, and community members to engage in fun and educational icebreakers, in activities organized by local environmental advocacy groups (e.g., clothing swaps), and in meaningful conversations to help foster long-term sustainable actions and collaboration among attendees.