When age isn't an obstacle to climate action

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

Ella Larsen shows age is no obstacle to climate action. The 14-year-old student from Saanich, BC, has been helping shape a better future since she was eight. This fall, as she enters Grade 9, she is intent on transforming beverage services at the University of Victoria.

Tell us about some of your past work.

When I was eight, I participated in CarbonRewind, a contest sponsored by a local charity to encourage us to take responsibility for our own ecological footprints. I interviewed the mayor of Victoria about bike safety. Since then, I have worked with the Saanich mayor and the district’s engineering department to make a major street more pedest