Winners 2022
Congratulations YRE Winners!
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2022 YRE Canada National Competition and thanks to everyone who submitted an entry this year! Despite a challenging pandemic school year, Canadian youth investigated environmental issues in their communities, and shared their findings through video, photography and writing. Winners of this year’s competition are below. We hope you enjoy them!
Photography | Ages 11-14
Let Future Generations Pick Flowers, Not Garbage
- Author: Elyssa
- Award: 1st Place
- School: R.L. Beattie Public School (Sudbury, ON)
Photographer Statement
Future generations deserve to pick flowers in the spring, not garbage. The world generates an average 35 million tons of garbage every day. That’s 10 times the amount it was a century ago. That equals around 2.01 billions tons of garbage every year. For example just by using a reusable water bottle the average person will save 1,400 water bottles a year. There are many more things we can do individually and as groups to help protect and save our planet for future generations.
Our Country is Suffocating due to the Oil Research
- Author: Ilia
- Award: 2nd Place
- School: École secondaire Étienne-Brûlé (Toronto, ON)
Photographer Statement
We must stop it. Oil is used as fuel in transportation, heating, electricity and in every aspect of daily life in plastics, clothing, toiletries, and gum production. Tremendous amount of carbon dioxide emissions arises from the oil consumption. Because of this reason, our planet including Canada faces the greenhouse effect. Transformation from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy must be done immediately. Oil production and distribution makes our country very rich, but on the other hand, it kills every living creature due to the cruel oil poisoning and spillage. Oil spillage and global warming threaten our world. Alberta is a great example of our-days-disaster. It had over 28, 666 spills of oil so far.
We Have Hope for our Earth
- Authors: Amiya, Samaira, and Anureet
- Award: 3rd Place
- School: Treeline Public School (Brampton, ON)
Photographer Statement
Mindless littering is causing plastic to almost consume the earth because of human actions. The holes in the plastic represent the amount of hope we have and how we can rescue the earth through small lifestyle changes. Reducing, reusing, and recycling are all actions we can take to reduce plastic pollution. It is our duty as keepers of the land to carry our earth into a more sustainable future.
Photography | Ages 15-18
Nonexistent Existence
- Authors: Rameen, Larosh, Joanne, Jasmeen, Massooma, Moira, Mahnoor, Aisha, Fatima, and Tahira
- Award: 1st Place
- School: Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary School (Brampton, ON)
Photographer Statement
This picture represents the endless growth of climate change and its permanent impacts, such as declined human health as depicted by the lungs formed by branches.
Climate change is affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the weather we experience. As a result, our health is in slow decline as pollution worsens.
This image is meant to have an impression on individuals who are irresponsible with their actions and contribute to our planet’s ever-increasing degradation. It’s intended to remind us that we are ruining not only our home, but also ourselves.
The Missing Stars on a Lonely Night
- Author: Valentina
- Award: 2nd Place
- School: Richmond Green Secondary School (Richmond Hill, ON)
Photographer Statement
A little boy sitting by a small lake. He’s reflecting and enjoying the view before him. The only thing that is disappointing is the starless sky. Due to the increase of air pollution throughout the years, the sky has lost its stars. No longer showered by the brightness, the boy decides to play with the rocks that lay by the side of the river.
Cloudy Plastic
- Author: Philip
- Award: 3rd Place
- School: Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School (Mississauga, ON)
Photographer Statement
The plastic bags in the photograph are like the clouds in the sky, always there but only noticed when looking for them. Plastic bags are overproduced and usually thrown away in the trash or outside. Most plastic bags aren’t biodegradable and can damage ecosystems on top of the creation of plastic bags creating atmospheric pollution. Finally, our inability to properly recycle plastic bags means that they are abundantly found on the streets, in our waters and blowing through our skies
Articles | Ages 11-14
Climate Change Calls for Local Change
- Author: Catherine
- Award: 1st Place
- School: Milne Valley Middle School (Toronto, ON)
Overfishing in Canada
- Authors: Samuel, Seydina, and Haitham
- Award: 2nd Place
- School: École secondaire Étienne-Brûlé (Toronto, ON)
Can GMOs Help Reduce Food Waste?
- Author: Edita
- Award: 3rd Place
- School: St. Paul Catholic Secondary School (Mississauga, ON)
Articles | Ages 15-18
The Loss of the Canadian Prairies: The Threat of Habitat Loss and Destruction on Prairie Wildlife and Biodiversity
- Author: Obii
- Award: 1st Place
- School: Walter Murray Collegiate (Saskatoon, SK)
The Car in Carbon Dioxide
- Author: Julie
- Award: 2nd Place
- School: St. Paul Secondary School (Mississauga, ON)
Road Salt – The Unlikely Danger to Wildlife
- Author: Kashish
- Award: 3rd Place
- School: Mayfield Secondary School (Caledon, ON)
Videos | Ages 11-14
Biodiversity: Threat of Extinction
- Author: Oshmin
- Award: 1st Place
- School: Seaquam Secondary School (Delta, BC)
How Does Global Warming Affect Canadian Agriculture?
- Author: Mélissa
- Award: 2nd Place
- School: École secondaire Étienne-Brûlé (Toronto, ON)
Videos | Ages 15-18
Earth’s Future
- Authors: Adieel, Caleb, and Isaiah
- Award: 1st Place
- School: Seaquam Secondary School (Delta, BC)
Biodiversity in an Urban Environment
- Authors: Lia, Elisa, Sara, Anya, Sadie, and Mindy
- Award: 2nd Place
- School: Earl Haig Secondary School (Toronto, ON)