These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity.

Leonie Murdoch believes people will protect what they know and respect. This 18-year-old from Nanaimo, British Columbia, leads guided walks focusing on the agency of species in their own environment. She also publishes regular Instagram stories about the benefits provided by endangered wildlife. Leonie was named a 2026 National Youth Climate Action Award winner by the Institute for Sustainability Education and Action.

Tell us about your projects. 

Eco-Excursions run guided, themed walks in local parks with groups of a maximum of eight people. I help people understand how species along the route benefit their environment. For example, seeing mushrooms like the Western Painted Suillus provides an opportunity to explain how forest trees rely on underground fungal networks to share resources. Some plants like oak and pine trees and some orchids can't survive without such mycorrhizal fungi. Decomposer mushrooms, also called saprotrophic fungi, return nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to the soil and regulate the release of carbon dioxide back into the environment. I think it is important that each strand........

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