The Ministry of Environment on Saturday held the fourth Environmental Youth Leader Awards Ceremony to recognize local young environmental activists’ contributions.
The event’s main message was “change begins with you,” and it was aimed at honoring young environmental leaders who can bring environmental protection ideas into practice, the ministry said.
Applicants were aged 13 to 29 this year, and their topics of interest ranged from artificial intelligence-driven governance and environmental reporting to artistic curation, it said.
Photo: Screen grab from the ministry’s Web site
When addressing climate change related issues, young generations not only have sharp insights, but can also combine technical and cultural innovations with community initiatives, the ministry said.
The Environmental Leadership Awards — the grand prizes — went to photographer Lee Yu-chen (李語晨) and National Chengchi University graduate student Tsai Pei-yun (蔡沛芸).
Based in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), Lee’s photography work is focused on raising public awareness about marine waste.
She reshapes the marine debris she collects into lifelike marine life to produce photos aimed at prompting viewers to rethink their relationship with the ocean.
Lee also collaborated with food artists to create “marine debris dishes” that used food ingredients to mimic the textures of marine debris that are usually swallowed by marine creatures.
Tsai focuses on issues such as roadkill of Chinese striped-neck turtles, invasive species, wild bird conservation and ecological damage.
She said she is planning to launch a petition to promote legislation on bird netting.
Lee and Tsai were invited to join the ministry’s visit to the US for a conference on environmental education later this year.
The Environmental Action Awards were given to Wild Bird Society of Taipei member Lee Yan-ta (李彥達), ministry technician Chou Hsing-yi (周幸儀) and National Tsing Hua University undergraduate student Wang Chun-yu (王竣右).
Lee Yan-ta applies his environmental education expertise to public environmental education and continues to connect people from different fields in environmental actions.
Chou helps translate complicated environmental knowledge and policies into easy-to-understand messages, contributing to their communication with local governments and the public.
Wang contributed to the circular economy by promoting the concept of “repair over replacement,” and forming the civic group “Fix and Chat,” based in Hsinchu County and dedicated to providing maintenance services for locals.
Huang Hsiao-chi (黃筱淇), a 16-year-old student from Nantou County, won the Special Jury Prize for her practice of a negative carbon lifestyle.
Huang and her family live an eco-friendly, self-sufficient way of life focused on natural farming and land restoration.
Young people’s creativity and commitment are indispensable to the government’s environmental policies, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) said.
The ministry expects to work with more young people, he said.
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