Caio Krause Conradt
2023 Youth Climate Activism Essay Entry
Danna Dunne presenting Caio with his YCAA certificate.
My name is Caio, and I have always felt a deep connection and longing to protect our planet. The first time I took action toward climate change was in Grade 8. I participated in the COP24 youth #Decarbonize paper and helped clean up a heavily polluted water source in my hometown. Later I moved to Canada.
After four years in Canada, I have become an active community member and activist. I am the leader of the Earthwise Environmental Club at my high school. Helping my community understand our role in protecting the environment. I have organized activities, including a cleanup, making a bee garden, a Himalayan blackberry pull, and a walk through our local creek to talk about the importance of salmon to the nitrogen and phosphorus cycle and teach students how to do water quality testing. Through Earthwise, I promoted the importance of environment conservation, allowing them to learn tangible ways to have an impact daily.
In addition, I was part of SFU's Bridging Environments program, co-creating a webinar about the pipeline built across the street from our school. And through a project I co-founded called Schooling Fish, which connects five different high schools around the Lower Mainland to learn about ocean conservation, I have led a walk through Stanley Park, talking about the ecological and natural history of the park.
I have volunteered with Wildlife Rescue Association of BC (WRA) and the Vancouver Avian Research Centre (VARC). With WRA, I help care for birds in rehabilitation by preparing, cleaning enclosures and preparing meals for each bird. With VARC, I help extract and band birds. I scribe the data collected on each bird, helping monitor the migration and health of the birds' population. Through these initiatives, I can see the impact of climate change on wildlife and help educate or, with data, show people the precedence of climate change.
Moreover, I am an active alum of Ocean Wise's Youth to Sea Program, helping educate about ocean conservation. With Youth to Sea, I have participated in countless shoreline cleanups; invasive species pulls, and many outreach educational events. Our oceans are the world's largest carbon sink; protecting them is vital to mitigate climate change.
I also facilitate the Garden Club and cooking classes at Forest Grove Elementary School as the Youth Committee Head for the Sprouting Chefs Society. Help teach kids essential skills while teaching them techniques to care for their health by healthy eating and taking care of their mental health. We can see how the changing climate has impacted the plants through gardening. Learning to adapt and understand how climate change affects bigger food systems has been vital. At my high school, I care for the garden spaces and greenhouse. There I lead a group to sprout seeds for the elementary schools. I also have organized workshops on composting, building hoop houses, making worm bins, and making seed bombs, which allow me to highlight themes like soil degradation, erosion, and other themes that directly correlate to climate change.
A Class Act for Nature
Caio was intervewed by Patricia Lane of the National Observer on September 25, 2023.
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?
I plan to continue with the initiatives I am currently active on, continuing projects and starting new ones. And as I head into university in the upcoming fall, I want to explore other initiatives and opportunities. As I’m going into biology and environmental science at university, I aim to have a job that allows me to have the daily impact I aspire to have as my career.
If you could share with us one message of hope for our planet, what would it be?
When we feel hopeless and lonely targeting these overwhelming global crises, remember that from individual to individual across the globe, our actions strengthen each other and have the power to create long-lasting change. Our planet is all connected and has huge potential to heal if given the chance. From action to action, we can impact entire ecosystems and communities, together bringing change.
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
Seeing our planet struggling and wanting our societies to understand the value of our planet inspires me to bring change. Seeing the beauty and biodiversity of our planet makes me long to protect it.
I also get inspired by seeing all the good being done out there and by understanding that we have huge potential to solve this issue if enough effort is put into it.
In outreach events, I get inspired by people who are curious and want to learn more about the topics I’m talking about. It shows that people are worried about it and willing to take steps to be part of the solution. By working with various age groups, it is evident that climate change is a big common concern. Even young elementary kids are extremely aware of the problem and have creative ideas on how to be part of the solution.