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Niria Alicia Garcia is standing on the banks of California’s Sacramento River, holding her phone. It’s mid-summer and the wide, steady waterway is flanked by willow trees, their branches trailing to the ground.

Sitting at a bus stop one day when she was 16, When Miranda Wang saw someone throw a plastic bottle into a trash bin, even though the recycling bin was right next to it.

Thirty-year-old American Molly Burhans wins the prestigious Young Champions of the Earth Prize for North America to pioneer big data and digital restoration among the world’s biggest land owners — starting with the Catholic church.  Seven young entrepreneurs under the age of 30 with big ideas for environmental change have been recognized from across the globe.

Women were not allowed on map-making ship voyages until the 1960s—it was believed that they would bring bad luck. Spanish nuns made maps in the 10th century. The first A-Z street map of London was created after one woman got lost on her way home from a party, then woke up every day at 5 a.m. to chart the city’s 23,000 streets. As it turns out, women have always contributed to the drawing of maps despite hurdles.

2019 Young Champion of the Earth for North America Molly Burhans founded GoodLands, where they work to bring Catholic conservation to the scale and impact of Catholic healthcare and education, as the largest global network of its kind.

It is the final countdown to the Climate Action Summit in New York on 23 September 2019. As the impacts of climate change define our time, now is the moment to do something about it. It will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society.

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise winners are out—and Miranda Wang, Young Champion of the Earth for North America, is the youngest of them.

Since Miranda Wang won the Young Champions of the Earth Prize for North America in September, things have been busy.  

Miranda Wang is Young Champion of the Earth for North America. The Young Champions of the Earth Prize is powered by Covestro.

Champions of the Earth laureate Boyan Slat and his Ocean Cleanup team launched their revolutionary marine litter cleanup system today. Research shows that a scaled-up fleet of 60 systems could eventually clean up 50% of the Patch in the next 5 years. San Francisco, 8 September 2018 – UN Environment Champion of the Earth Boyan Slat and his Ocean Cleanu

Kaya Dorey, Young Champion of the Earth for North America, shares her experiences in building a sustainable apparel manufacturing hub in Vancouver. July 2018 How I Accidentally Became a Spokesperson for Sustainable Fashion

The United Nations Environment Programme today announces Canadian fashion designer Kaya Dorey as a Young Champion of the Earth for bringing to market her unique apparel business that not only delivers on sustainability but also an urban street style for a generation wanting to end the wasteful consumerism of ‘fast fashion'.