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

Anya Yang turns badminton birdies bound for the landfill into useful works of art. This 17-year-old highschool student from Markham, Ontario, co-founded Birdie UP Canada to sell upcycled birdies. The group sends birdie proceeds to the World Wildlife Fund and other charities engaged in social and environmental justice. She is a 2025 winner of the I-SEA National Youth Climate Action Award. 

Tell us about your project.

There are 339 million badminton players in the world, and all of us use multiple birdies. They have a very limited, useful life. Once they are broken or ruffled, they are thrown away. It is common at badminton tournaments for garbage tins to overflow with discarded birdies. Most are made of plastics, cork and other materials that do not decompose rapidly or at all.

Two of my friends, Christine Liang and Ivy Forchune, and I use discarded birdies and donated art materials to make attractive keychains we sell at various events. Last........

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