Three young climate leaders from Surrey have been selected for a new national fellowship recognizing youth driving environmental change across Canada.
Isabella Wen, Shrey Rao and Armaan Thandhi are among 75 recipients chosen from across the country for Starfish Canada’s inaugural Climate75 fellowship program.
The fellowship runs from February to August and includes training, national recognition and a five-day summit in Squamish.
Fellows will have the chance to connect with other youth climate leaders and learn from environmental initiatives across the country, including Indigenous-led climate action.
“It’s beautiful to see people be joined by this deep care for the world whether it’s climate action or any other kind of social impact work,” Wen said.
Isabella Wen
Wen, a Grade 12 student at R.E. Mountain Secondary in Langley, who lives near the Surrey border, began her climate advocacy through public speaking.
“I think public speaking gives you the power to challenge dominant narratives and take back space for people who might not have that voice in the first place,” she shared.
This passion led Wen to create a public speaking series called ‘Loudly Together’ in hopes to uplift others to start speaking up.
This series started locally but has now expanded globally, with Wen teaching girls in Afghanistan and Ghana.
Her passion for public speaking sparked her interest in journalism which led her to do a journalism series as a research assistant with a professor at the University of British Columbia.
It was the climate stories through this series that further sparked her curiosity and inspired her to want to learn more about this topic.
“I got to interview water defenders, farmers, and different kinds of people who are doing climate work.”
Wen said she is especially looking forward to building relationships with the other fellows and strengthening collaboration among youth climate advocates.
“I’ve always believed there’s too much ‘I’ in the world and not enough we. That’s something that I want to change,” Wen said
Despite all of her achievements; Wen shared with Peace Arch News that she was surprised to learn she got into the program and explained that she is just at the cusp for the eligible age requirement but will be 18 before the summit.
Armaan Thandhi
Thandhi, a fourth-year Simon Fraser University student pursuing a business administration degree with a sustainability joint major, said his interest in climate work developed after witnessing B.C.’s 2023 wildfire season.
“A few years towards the end of high school, I was kind of aimless and I didn’t really feel as though I had a strong sense of purpose in life,” Thandhi shared with Peace Arch News. “So surprisingly, the thing that kind of was my light bulb moment was when the wildfires happened here in B.C. in 2023.”
He said the experience was what motivated him to pursue work focused on addressing climate change and protecting future generations.
Thandhi’s recent role as a junior policy analyst with B.C.’s Ministry of Forests also exposed him to Indigenous-led environmental work, including interviews with representatives from Indigenous communities about forestry and sustainability.
“That was an eye-opening experience,” Thandhi shared.
Thandhi also is passionate about the intersection between mental health and climate change.
He carried this passion with him when he had the opportunity to help co-design a climate anxiety peer support intervention for youth.
This was made possible by Stanford’s Psychiatry Circle Initiative with a program called ‘Y-Care’.
Thandhi shared he hopes the fellowship will help him better communicate climate issues and encourage a broader participation from others in the world and community.
“You don’t need to have an environmental studies degree or be a scientist to be interested in addressing the issue of climate change,” he explained. “This really should be an uplifting and inclusive moment where we all seek a better vision of our future.”
Shreya Rao
Rao, an environment, resources and sustainability student at the University of Waterloo, is the founder of ‘Planted Youth Opportunities’, and organization that connects young people with internships, scholarships, volunteer opportunities and more.
She shared that her passion for climate advocacy was in a way shaped by watching Surrey’s rapid urban development.
“I knew I wanted to tie myself to a greater cause and bigger purpose,” Rao said. “Growing up in such a beautiful environment in Surrey and seeing the way that my neighbourhood changed, I think that was what really drew me into this whole space.”
Rao is very familiar with Starfish Canada and mentioned this wasn’t her first year applying.
She explained that prior to Starfish Canada’s Climate75 there was another program called the ‘Top 25 under 25 environmentalist program’.
This previous program used to invite 25 selected environmentalists as well as 50 other participants to a retreat to connect with the cohort of 25 as well as the other 50 individuals.
In the spirit of becoming more inclusive to all the 75 participants, Starfish Canada rebranded the program to Climate75 this year.
Rao has applied a few times in the past but this is the first time she has been accepted.
“Its very important for me to highlight that I had applied previously,” admitted Rao. “Even if something doesn’t work out once, you should always continually apply and continue to build that relationship.”
She continued her message by sharing that rejection is not something that is meant to keep someone out of a space. “It’ll come to you when it’s ready for you.”
Rao added that she hopes to help make climate action more accessible and integrated into everyone’s everyday life.
“How can we position it so it’s not a chore? Rather it’s something that is embedded in our daily practice,” she said.
Building a new network
All three Surrey recipients said they are looking forward to learning from other fellows and strengthening their work through collaboration.
As the Climate75 fellowship begins its inaugural year, Wen, Thandhi and Rao will join dozens of young leaders across Canada working towards a shared goal of building a more sustainable future.
More information about the Climate75 fellowship, including a full list of recipients, is available on Starfish Canada’s website.