Season 3, Episode 19: Willow

Climate Action Figures celebrates passing 2,500 podcast downloads, sharing a listener QuickFix from Linda in Indio, California about switching from plastic reusable bottles to aluminum, and discuss recycling energy savings. They interview grade 12 student Willow McGrath from St. John, New Brunswick, who describes how nature and camp shaped her environmental passion and her work leading Earth Ed Experiential Learning. Willow explains receiving a $3,000 Ocean Wise grant to run environmental education visits in local elementary schools, add green spaces like planters and an outdoor classroom, and create a 10-poster campaign with youth artists across Canada. She recounts representing youth at conferences, including Ottawa’s National Forum for Environmental Learning and the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, where youth co-wrote the Global Children’s Call to Action. Willow shares concerns about an AI data center proposed on wetlands, AI’s impacts on learning and energy use, her birch-tree magnetic field research, plans to study environmental science, her love of houseplants, and hope from like-minded communities.

00:00 Welcome and Milestone

00:42 QuickFix Aluminum Swap

01:45 Willow’s Nature Roots

02:45 Camp and Earth Ed

04:13 Ocean Wise School Program

07:02 Conferences and Youth Voice

10:04 AI Data Centers Concerns

13:24 Staying Balanced and Research

15:45 Future Career in Conservation

16:44 Plant Mom Climate Action

17:57 Hope and Closing Thanks

[e-mail]
https://www.facebook.com/climateactionfigures
https://www.instagram.com/climateactionfigures/
https://www.youtube.com/@ClimateActionFigures