Action For Nature Announces 2025 International Young Eco-Hero Award Winners

Dil Bar Irshad | August 12, 2025 | Breaking News, International | Follow on Google News

Action For Nature Announces 2025 International Young Eco-Hero Award Winners: 15 youth receive global recognition for their environmental achievements

San Francisco – Today, Action For Nature (AFN) announced its 2025 International Young Eco-Hero Award winners, honoring fifteen young environmental activists from across the globe for their creative initiatives to tackle the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

The International Young Eco-Hero Awards honors global youth ages 8 to 16 whose work has had a significant impact on raising awareness of environmental issues and finding innovative solutions to tough environmental problems. This year’s winners span the globe, and include environmental projects ranging from upcycling, to tree planting, wildlife tracking, and social media advocacy.

“While leaders worldwide struggle to protect the environment, global youth activists constantly remind us that transformative change often starts small. From Burundi to San Antonio, Texas, this year’s Eco-Heroes are another powerful reminder that the future of our planet is in good hands,” said Beryl Kay, president of Action for Nature “By honoring the trailblazing work of young environmental activists worldwide, we are celebrating the hope, creativity, and passion we all need to harness in order to protect the Earth.”

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Winners of the International Young Eco-Hero Award are selected by a panel of independent judges, including experts in environmental science, biology, and education. For the past 22 years, Action For Nature has recognized 360 Eco-Heroes from 40 countries and 39 U.S. states.

The winners will present their work at a virtual event anchored in San Francisco on September 13 at 10 am PST live via Zoom Webinar.

This year’s International Young Eco-Hero Awards go to:

First Place: Alice Wanjiru, Age 11, Nairobi, Kenya

Focused on the rehabilitation of the Ruai Sewer Treatment Plant in Nairobi, Alice has led efforts to plant over 2,000 trees around the sewer plant, significantly improving air quality and reducing respiratory illnesses like bronchitis and asthma among residents, especially children. Alice also successfully petitioned the Nairobi County Government to prioritize the sewer plant’s rehabilitation. 

First Place: Priyanshi Podar, Age 16, Biratnagar, Nepal

Through her upcycling campaign, Project Saathi, Project Saathi, Priyanshi upcycles discarded rubber from industries and local households into durable, multipurpose mats and comfortable clogs. These essential items provide a clean, insulated surface for sleeping, studying, and playing, directly improving the living conditions of families often sleeping on bare ground or children studying on cold floors.

Second Place: Charmante Espoire Nduwayo, Age 15, Bujumbura, Burundi

Charmante launched a vital project to protect the Gikoma River, a lifeline for her community in Bujumbura, Burundi. Driven by a deeply personal connection to her environment, Charmante’s persistent efforts over two years have yielded tangible results: the Gikoma riverbank has been significantly stabilized, and the amount of sanitary waste entering the water has visibly decreased. 

Second Place: Harsita Priyadarshini Mohanty, Age 13, Koraput, Odisha, India

Harsita established the “Harsita Priyadarshini Indigenous Seed and Grain Bank,” a vital initiative born from her self-funded efforts and deep commitment to sustainable farming. Inspired by the pioneering work of Padmashree Kamala Pujari, a tribal legend in seed conservation, Harsita is deeply rooted in her rural, tribal-dominated community. 

Second Place: Nethanya Fonseka, Age 16, Macomb, Michigan

Nethanya received recognition for her project  Plant It Forward (PIF), a grassroots initiative dedicated to combating climate change through active conservation, remediation, advocacy, and justice. Nethanya has planted approximately 860 trees to date. Additionally, Nethanya designed and created a Hummingbird/Pollinator Garden in a local park and established a Heritage Garden in Macomb Township, which includes rare American Chestnut trees.

Second Place: Nicolina Pappas, Age 13, Rock Island, Illinois

Nicolina founded Nicolina’s Turtle Co. to combat single-use plastic pollution. What began with designing and sewing straw pouches to sell with metal straws has since become a comprehensive movement impacting thousands and driving policy change across Illinois and Iowa. Nicolina has raised over $15,000 in five years by channeling her passion for the environment into action.

Third Place: Josué Arias Caldero, Age 12, Bogotá, Colombia

Via entertaining videos on his social media page – @SuperJosuéOfficial – Josué seeks to educate, protect, and restore páramo ecosystems. Josué is also part of the Cumbres Blancas team, an interdisciplinary collective that brings together photographers, documentary filmmakers, scientists, and environmental activists committed to protecting páramos and glaciers, with whom he leads environmental restoration campaigns by planting frailejones – a native mountain shrub – in high-mountain ecosystems.

Third Place: Bibhuti Bhattarai, Age 16, Bangkok, Thailand

After witnessing the widespread and often uninformed use of chemical fertilizers in home gardens in Nepal, Bibhuti launched a campaign – Girls Leading Organic Way – to promote equitable access to information and resources, enabling local women and girls to make informed choices that reduce environmental harm and improve health outcomes. 

Third Place: Eesha Ande, Age 16, San Antonio, Texas

Eesha’s recognition honors her work to create a more equitable and environmentally responsible solution to period poverty – which started after a friend missed school due to a lack of menstrual products. Eesha has installed shelves in her high school’s girls’ bathrooms, stocked with free disposable products and, crucially, sustainable options like washable cloth pads and reusable menstrual cups, along with educational resources in English and Spanish. Additionally, Eesha has distributed nearly 100 portable kits in San Antonio.

This year’s special honors go to:

Dr. Mary Griffin-Jones Award: Ana Lucía Pérez Escalera, Age 13, Salinas, Puerto Rico

Ana Lucía’s organization – De a Pokito por Puerto Rico – focuses on eradicating improper waste management, promoting recycling, reusing, and especially reducing waste, while also inspiring young people towards STEAM careers that serve the environment. She has directly impacted more than 100,000 people through talks, fair presentations, beach cleanups, and a growing media presence. Ana Lucía is a NOAA Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador, scientific and environmental ambassador for the Ecoexploratorio: Museum of Science of Puerto Rico, and also collaborates with other organizations, constantly seeking new ways to learn and lead.

Shimon Schwarzschild Award: Dominic Oviedo Löwen, Age 16, Itauguá, Paraguay

Dominic’s personal quest for local bird information—a surprising void in his native Guaraní language – has blossomed into a far-reaching initiative to document, share, and protect his country’s rich biodiversity via social media and in-person activism. Through self-initiated research and photography, Dominic has meticulously compiled his observations into a personal bird guide, two books, and a speaking series. 

Young people receiving honorable mentions include:

Honorable Mention: Lucile Morehouse, Age 14, Boswell, Oklahoma

After the devastation of a tornado that destroyed her family’s beehives when she was six, Lucile launched her Lucile’s Pollinator Project to raise donations, purchase, and package pollinator seed packets for free distribution. Lucile has distributed 2,000 seed packets to 34 U.S. states, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Honorable Mention: Availa Johnson, Age 9, Lake Worth, Florida

Availa launched the EcoCreators Design Club in September 2024 as a fun and inspiring space for students to turn plastic and other recyclable materials into unique, sustainable designs. Boasting 30 active members, the club challenges young minds to see “trash as treasure,” saving thousands of pieces of plastic from potentially polluting the environment.

Honorable Mention: Aziza Kennedy, Age 16, Alexandria, Virginia

Aziza launched a project to combat food waste by making her school – St. John’s College High School (SJC) – one of the first Catholic high schools in the DC metro area to adopt composting. In just the first two weeks of her program, the school kitchen composted an impressive 200 pounds of food waste. 

Honorable Mention: Elvia Gómez Troya, Age 13, Egüés, Navarra, Spain

An animal tracker, Elvia’s project centers on raising awareness for nature protection by sharing her profound love for animals and their ecosystems. With nearly 30,000 followers from around the world on her Instagram account, @elvialarastreadora, Elvia shares fascinating facts about animals and their tracks. Elvia also published a book – “Cosas que me flipan de los animales” (Things that fascinate me about wildlife) – featuring 30 autobiographical stories and illustrations, including often-feared animals like spiders and vipers, to challenge negative perceptions and foster respect.

For high-resolution photos of winners visit https://actionfornature.org and to learn more about all of this year’s International Young Eco-Hero Award winners.