Hometown Hero, Canada

Environment Em

I’m Emma Melis, and I’ve always been a lover of nature and the environment. My earliest memory of wanting to help the planet was when I was eight and I made and sold animal-shaped bookmarks to raise money for animals being endangered by habitat destruction and deforestation. Many years later, I’m now the founder and Head of my high school’s Eco Team, and am a part of a provincial environmental youth council.

I’m very passionate about pollinator conservation, nature, and the zero-waste movement. I give speeches and presentations on the importance of honeybees and other pollinators. In 2017, I was awarded the Earth Day Canada National Youth Hometown Heroes Award for sustainability for my environmental efforts in my own life and community.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote that “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors, but we borrow it from our descendants.” I believe that our youth voice is important in the fight for the environment because we have inherited the earth and pledge to be its stewards. I am so impressed by the inspirational and driven young activists being brought together by Green Teen Team from all around the world to build a strong network of tomorrow’s change-makers, and am honoured to be an ambassador for the cause.”

Follow Emma on Instagram here