The EcoYouth Summit is an annual youth-led event that brings together young people from across Ottawa to connect, learn, and take action on environmental issues. Through guest speakers, workshops, and collaborative activities, participants build advocacy, leadership, and community engagement skills while connecting with local environmental leaders and peers. The summit creates a space for youth to share ideas, identify local environmental challenges, and work together to develop actionable solutions for their communities.
In 2025, Ecology Ottawa hosted its second annual EcoYouth Summit, bringing together environmentally engaged youth from across the city for a full day of expert talks, interactive breakout sessions, and networking opportunities.
The EcoYouth Summit featured four keynote speakers, each bringing unique perspectives grounded in lived community experience, practical organizing skills, creative and cultural approaches to environmental work, and a strong commitment to climate justice, equity, and care. Speakers shared their experiences to spark new ideas, inspire collaboration, and support participants in developing their own projects and approaches to environmental action.
Catherine McKenna, former Minister of Environment and Climate Change and a global climate leadership advocate.
Credit: Susan Ure.
Nkosinothando Mhlanga, a young environmental leader working on sustainability and community resilience in Ottawa, with research on local land-use and climate policy and experience supporting environmental work in a Member of Parliament’s office.
Credit: Susan Ure
Harmony Eshkawkogan, a local Indigenous advocate focused on food security, water protection, and youth wellbeing.
Credit: Susan Ure.
Alex Neufeldt, one of seven youth suing the Government of Ontario for failing to take climate action. Alex is also involved with Citizens Climate Lobby and Climate Messengers Canada.
Credit: Susan Ure.
Between speaker presentations, youth participated in two interactive breakout activities designed to move from identifying environmental challenges to developing solutions. In the first activity, Think-Pair-Share, participants responded to the prompt: “Identify an ecological issue you’ve experienced or noticed in Ottawa and think about how it affects nearby residents or the wider community.” Youth reflected individually, discussed their ideas with peers, and shared their perspectives with the larger group, generating a range of environmental priorities and concerns.
A participant shares ideas with their group during the Think-Pair-Share activity, discussing local environmental issues and their impacts on the Ottawa community.
Credit: Susan Ure.
Building on the ideas generated during the Think-Pair-Share activity, participants worked in groups to design youth-led programs and initiatives that could address the environmental issues they had identified. Teams explored project goals, community impacts, target audiences, and the resources needed to bring their ideas to life. This activity challenged participants to move from identifying local environmental concerns to developing practical, action-oriented solutions, fostering creativity, collaboration, and youth leadership.
Participants collaborate in small groups during the Think-Pair-Share activity, brainstorming and sharing ideas on environmental solutions.
Credit: Susan Ure.
The ideas and solutions generated have served to guide Ecology Ottawa’s EcoYouth Council, which has been developing programming to turn selected proposals into future youth-led action in Ottawa. By creating opportunities for connection, dialogue, and leadership development, the EcoYouth Summit continues to strengthen Ottawa’s growing network of young environmental changemakers.
Group photo with EcoYouth Council members at the 2025 EcoYouth Summit.
Credit: Susan Ure.
We look forward to hosting the third annual EcoYouth Summit in 2026, as we continue to foster collaboration of youth leaders coming together to discuss climate solutions and actions. Stay tuned for more details!
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our funders, the Alva Foundation, along with fifty-six individual donors and members of the Ecology Ottawa community, for making this youth-led work possible. We are also deeply grateful to all participants whose energy, ideas, and engagement continue to shape and strengthen youth environmental leadership in Ottawa.
We welcome financial support for the 2026 EcoYouth Summit. If you are interested in contributing or learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected]