Anna Erickson
2023 Youth Climate Activism Essay Entry
Youth Climate Cabinet members Amy Chang (left), along with Kasey Chen (right) with YCAA 2023 recipient Anna Erickson (middle).
My name is Anna Erickson and I am an 18-year-old student living in Victoria, BC. Having parents who used to be mountain guides, my whole life has been exploring the outdoors. I feel most alive when I am backpacking through the mountains in Strathcona Park, swimming at the beaches practically in the backyard and gliding across the lake with my rowing team. Ever since I started learning about climate change and environmental issues happening all around us, I knew I wanted to be involved in creating positive change.
My first experience in climate activism started when I learned about how Coastal Douglas Fir trees, some of the biggest and oldest in BC, were getting cut down. I wanted everyone to know about this issue, so my friend and I decided we wanted to take our grade 3 class on a field trip to go see the trees. With the help of a program called FUN Champs and the Ancient Forest Alliance, we took our class to Royal Roads University to do art in the forest that would be turned into a children's book. It was super empowering to be able to share my passion for the trees with my peers and have their help creating a book that would donate all the profits to the A.F.A.
Speaking at the Kings Park rally, 2019 (Saanich News article —
Save Kings Park Photo).
One of the places I spent a lot of time as a kid was Kings Park, right down the street from my house. In 2019, the city had plans to sell it to be developed into housing. The park not only held many memories for me, but it sat on the Bowker Creek watershed. With the help of some other community members, we held a fundraiser rally to save Kings Park. My sisters and I spoke about how growing up having access to Kings Park was amazing for us and we hoped it would be there for future generations too.
After speaking at the rally, I realized how empowering it was to speak to a crowd of people about what I'm passionate about and be involved on another level. I spoke to some people and found out about Our Earth Our Future, a youth-run climate organization in Victoria. I joined in 2020 and immediately fell in love with the people and environment of climate activism. We organized fundraisers, climate strikes and spent time at fairy creek learning from the indigenous people of the area. OEOF helped lay a foundation for my climate activism and helped me in other climate change programs I did later on such as Girls On Ice Canada.
In middle school, I learned all about how technology and innovation were helping to fix problems causing global warming. Alongside my strengths in math and science, this is one of the reasons why I have chosen to go into green civil engineering at UVic. While I am leaving behind my activism leadership for now, I know I will be continuing to stay involved from the sidelines.
Anna Erickson leading a march through downtown Victoria during climate strike, 2021.
NATIONAL POST INTERVIEW with Patricia Lane
Anna Erickson has been organizing real action on climate change since she was eight years old. Now 18, this Victoria, B.C., green, civil engineering student won a Youth Climate Activism Award from the Institute for Sustainability Education and Action (I-SEA) for getting her Grade 3 class to collaborate with her and a friend in writing, illustrating and publishing a book for other elementary school students, organizing effective resistance to developing a park in her neighbourhood when she was in Grade 7, and her leadership in the student strikes in 2019 and 2021.
As part of the submissions application we asked participants to answer these 3 questions in addition to their essay or video.
What future goals do you have around your environmental and climate work, and do you have any future projects in mind?
While I have been involved in multiple climate activism groups throughout high school and middle school, next year I am taking the next step of my life and going to UVic. I have always known I wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to create change in the world, and with my strengths in math and science, I decided I wanted to go into green civil engineering. I believe that everyone has the ability to create positive change in the spaces around them, and you just need to find your strengths and interests to do so. I am excited to study engineering because even though it will be very challenging, I know I'm going to learn so much. I believe I can bring a unique perspective to environmental engineering, not only with my activism background but also as a queer female.
If you could share with us one message of hope for our planet, what would it be?
We are the next generation to run the world. While climate change and global warming all around us can feel super isolating and scary, it's important to connect with people in the community in a positive way. Everyone can bring a different skill set to the table, even if it isn't big. Keeping an open mind and having conversations (even hard ones) about global and local events with people around you can be super positive and help join people together. Even when things seem to be hopeless, connect with yourself by going outside and spending time in nature. Breathing fresh air and sitting with the plants, trees and animals is a great way to wind down and feel better.
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
Growing up on Vancouver Island has made me very immersed in nature. From a young age, my parents have pushed us to explore the outdoors by camping, backpacking, mountaineering, swimming and more. I have always felt at home when I am outside and I'm so grateful to live in a place with such easy access to the outdoors. In elementary school, I first started to learn about climate change and it made me super upset. Since then, I have been a part of various climate activism projects and groups writing stories, creating art, and holding protests. My family, friends and the trees inspire me to commit my time and energy to make our planet a better space so it's here for everyone in the future.