UC Merced student Martin Figueroa spearheaded a campus movement to reduce water use. In 2011, he organized the "UC Merced Water Battle," a month-long competition involving over 600 students across residence halls. Utilizing real-time monitoring, participants collectively cut water use by 14 percent, saving 89,000 gallons.

Figueroa is now encouraging other UC campuses to implement similar "Water Battles" to expand conservation efforts.

Growing up in Detroit, Brittany Stallworth, a 2012 Brower Youth Award Winner, faced environmental injustice, including limited healthy food access and exposure to factory emissions. This experience fueled her to establish "Green is the New Black" at Howard University, a campaign dedicated to food and environmental justice.

Through her initiative, Stallworth organized expert-led workshops for students and a symposium that connected over 35 green organizations with college students for internships and jobs. Her passion has inspired others to advance food accessibility and environmental justice in underserved communities.

The 88,000-acre Scotchman Peaks Roadless Area, straddling the Idaho-Montana border, is one of the region's largest remaining wild areas. Inspired by its natural beauty, Jacob Glass produced "En Plein Air," a film documenting the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. This grassroots group, formed in 2005, seeks federal protection for the region, with the film highlighting two painters who use their art to advocate for the mountains.

The documentary received nationwide media attention, dramatically increasing the Friends' membership. This surge of public support for wilderness designation led to endorsements from many area chambers of commerce and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.

Maya Salsedo, a 2012 Brower Youth Award winner, champions food justice, driven by her family's history of food insecurity. Descendants of Puerto Rican emigrants who worked in Hawaiian sugar cane fields, her family consistently faced challenges accessing healthy food.

This experience spurred Salsedo to action. In 2011, as a youth organizer with Rooted in Community, she proposed the Youth Food Bill of Rights. This declaration envisions a food system that benefits consumers, producers, and the planet, granting local communities more control over their food. Her work has since inspired peers nationwide, establishing a foundation for dialogues on what food justice means to today's youth.

Clarissa Klein, Alec Loorz, Shannon McComb, Eveline Weary, Danny Farahdel, Tracy Alvarez, Felix Finkbiener, Hannah Kirkegaard, William Love-Anderegg, Jordan Howard, Erica Fernandez, Carolina Parra, and Anya Suslova are featured.

They appear in the trailer for Lynne Cherry's 2009 documentary, "kids vs. global warming."

Santa Cruz's Kyle Thiermann, a 2011 Brower Youth Award Winner from the Earth Island Institute, is celebrated for his impactful work.

His "Surfing for Change" videos have generated millions of dollars in environmentally responsible investments, demonstrating the power of surf activism.

Victor Davila founded EcoRyders, a series of summer workshops that make environmental and health education engaging for youth through skateboarding. Participants build their own skateboards while learning about pressing local environmental issues. EcoRyders addresses high youth obesity rates and public transportation challenges in the community.

Davila received the Brower Youth Award. This award recognizes North Americans aged 13 to 22 who demonstrate outstanding leadership on projects with positive environmental and social impact.

In 2007, Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva founded Project ORANG (Orangutans Really Appreciate and Need Girls Scouts). They discovered that palm oil, a key ingredient in Girl Scout cookies, contributes significantly to orangutan habitat destruction.

This revelation prompted them to campaign for the Girl Scouts to replace palm oil with an eco-friendly alternative. Partnering with Rainforest Action Network, they co-authored a petition that generated over 70,000 emails to the Girl Scouts headquarters. Both are admirers of Jane Goodall.

Alex Epstein co-founded the New York 2 New Orleans Coalition, a network of NYC high school students addressing parallel community struggles. After moving to Philadelphia for college, he co-founded The Philadelphia Urban Creators (PUC), an organization of young community organizers dedicated to fostering sustainable and equitable development from the ground up.

Epstein is a recipient of the prestigious Brower Youth Award. These awards recognize North American individuals aged 13 to 22 who demonstrate outstanding leadership on projects with significant positive environmental and social impact. Learn more at Brower Youth Awards.

Tania Pulido runs the Berryland community garden in Richmond, CA. More than just a food source in a food desert, it offers local youth summer apprenticeships to learn about climate change and environmental racism. You can watch a video about her work.

Pulido actively campaigns for her community's health, including against the local Chevron oil refinery. Her dedication earned her the Brower Youth Award.

The Brower Youth Awards recognize North American youth (ages 13-22) who demonstrate outstanding leadership in projects with positive environmental and social impact.

Severn Cullis-Suzuki, daughter of renowned Canadian scientist David Suzuki, developed a profound connection to nature early in life. In her lecture, she discusses her evolution as an environmentalist, emphasizing humanity's dangerous disconnection from the natural world that unequivocally sustains us.

Cullis-Suzuki argues that our collective arrogance and ignorance have pushed us to the brink of planetary disaster. She challenges individuals to confront their consumptive impact and explore ways to reduce their personal ecological footprint, urging a critical re-evaluation of our relationship with the planet.

Raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Severn Cullis-Suzuki developed a lifelong passion for nature. At nine, she founded the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO) to educate peers on environmental issues. In 1992, ECO raised funds to attend the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where 12-year-old Severn delivered a powerful speech reminding global leaders of their actions' future impact, earning a standing ovation.

Nearly two decades later, she continues to address our understanding of the environment. Watch her here.

IKEA engages children in discussions about environmental sustainability. Their perspectives offer unique and often surprising insights into global challenges.

Discover what these young voices have to say about taking care of our planet.