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

Michael Lecchino helps other young people see their individual climate and environmental protection actions as part of a larger whole. This business student at Concordia University in Montreal organized community-wide recycling of COVID-19 masks during the pandemic and cigarette butts clean-up in his neighbourhood parks. He hosted an art exhibition for 100 elementary school students who illustrated their dream for their home community of LaSalle with images of windmills, homes for all and better transit. He is creating guides to help university students persuade professors and business leaders to prioritize sustainability.

Tell us about your work.

I’m a founding member and president of our local youth council, the Conseil jeunesse de LaSalle (CJL). During the pandemic, we worked with the borough to place 10 bins in five municipal parks and mobilized over 100 residents to collect 1,168 masks for recycling. Youth council members, borough officials and our neighbours all saw that even when we are isolated, small, organized actions can protect shared spaces. 

We noticed a lot of cigarette........

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