In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8 2021) I wanted to write about five important women who are doing their best to save our plant. I have chosen these five eco-warriors due to either their notability or their being overlooked.
Greta Thunberg: probably one of the most well-known young environmentalists at the moment, Greta Thunberg is an eighteen-year-old from Sweden who has been leading the ‘School Strike For Climate’ campaign since August 2018. She has won a number of awards and spoken in front of many about climate change, including the United Nations Climate Action Summit. She is currently taking a year out of education to further her cause and travel (sustainably) to educate people. Although there has been a great deal of positive responses to her work, there is also a phenomenon of unwarranted vicious and graphic hate that is often directed towards her.
Autumn Peltier: another young environmental activist is Autumn Peltier, a sixteen year old clean water advocate. Her work gained international attention when she met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudaeu to confront him about his stance on pipelines. She has since been nominated for an International Children’s Peace Prize and has attended the United Nation Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in both 2018 and 2019. She is also the Chief Water Protector for the Anishnabek Nation (an organization representing First Nation people of Canada).
Winona LaDuke: Native American environmentalist, Winona LaDuke, has been an activist for native rights and the loss of land. However, she also worked to develop a new model for sustainable development with eco-conscious decisions from production of food through energy. She founded the non-profit organization White Earth Land Recovery Project which has helped revive wild rice cultivation in Minnesota. She also co-founded Honor The Earth which provides grants to Native-run environmental initiatives.
Mari Copeny: better known as Little Miss Flint, Mari Copeny first achieved national recognition in the US when she wrote to former President Obama about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Her letter inspired President Obama to fly to Flint and bring national attention to the water crisis. Although she was only eight at the time she has continued her work by raising awareness with her #WednesdaysForWater campaign. Currently she is working with a water filtration company to bring filters to communities that don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water.
Jane Goodall: born in 1934, Jane Goodall has been an environmental and conservation activist for a long time. She is also noted as the inspiration of many other activists since. She is most known for her study on chimpanzees in Gomber Stream National Park in Tanzania but she has long been an advocate for animal welfare. Her research found that we are not so different from animals and thus we should work to protect the animal kingdom. Her namesake, the Jane Goodall Institute, currently works to educate people on how to help humanity and also protect the natural environment.
