Climate Action Figures
Climate Action Figures
John Whidden
A safe place for youth to share steps they are taking to mitigate climate change.
Season 3, Episode 28: Kayla
In the season three finale of Climate Action Figures, host John Whidden welcomes back creative consultant Kayla, shares a Quick Fix from Linda in Rochon Sands about swapping chemical cleaners for vinegar and baking soda, and demonstrates homemade/refillable cleaning solutions. Kayla discusses an upcoming two-month trip to Japan, South Korea, and China and admiration for strong recycling and anti-littering cultures. John recounts attending the KEPA (Kainai Ecological Protection Agency) cross-c...
Jun 23
24 min
Season 3, Episode 27: Abhay
Host John Whidden welcomes Abhay to Climate Action Figures, beginning with Sophia’s Quick Fix on guerrilla gardening using indigenous plants. Abhay, a CBC What on Earth contributor on climate change and mental health, describes how a Students on Ice expedition to the Arctic and Greenland shaped his understanding of climate impacts, Inuit mental health challenges, and climate justice tied to colonialism. He explains how that experience led to founding Break the Divide, which began as high scho...
Jun 16
28 min
Season 3, Episode 26: Prasiddhi
Host John Whidden welcomes 13-year-old Indian environmentalist Prasiddhi, founder of Prasiddhi Forest Foundation, who has planted 200,000 trees toward a goal of 10 million and built a global following to spread hopeful, action-focused climate messaging. She describes starting after the 2016 Varadhah Cyclone in Tamil Nadu, learning fundraising, creating a seed-collecting “kids army,” and growing a nursery capable of 30,000 saplings. Prasiddhi discusses attending UN COP conferences (including C...
Jun 2
30 min
Season 3, Episode 25 Sophia
Host John Whidden introduces a QuickFix from Janice in Calgary encouraging “no mow May” to protect invertebrates, then interviews Sophia, a third-year environmental engineering student focused on drinking water and microplastics. Sophia recommends boiling or filtering water and explains concerns about bottled water, including plastic-related endocrine disruptors and potential bacterial biofilms. She describes her microplastics research on how particle shape affects settling and treatment, not...
May 19
20 min
Season 3, Episode 24: Alice
In the 77th episode of Climate Action Figures, host John Whidden welcomes Alice, a Switzerland-based veterinarian who no longer practices clinically and instead works toward One Health through policy and research. Alice explains that veterinary careers extend beyond treating animals into areas like food safety, prevention, research, and education, and describes moving from clinical work in Italy to policy work in Brussels via a veterinary trade association, then to research in Switzerland to ...
May 12
21 min
Season 3, Episode 23: Twila
John hosts a unique episode of Climate Action Figures featuring his daughter, Twila. The QuickFix highlights “Adopt Don’t Shop,” encouraging pet adoption and volunteering at local shelters. Twila shares her climate actions, including conserving and reusing water (collecting shower warm-up water and catching sink water for plants), thrift shopping, growing herbs, using reusable bags and cups, combining errands into one trip, and installing solar panels. They reflect on John’s long-runnin...
May 5
19 min
Season 3, Episode 22: Gokul
Host John Whidden welcomes Gokul from Kerala, India. Gokul connects cultural practices to science and explains youth climate organizing through YOUNGO’s local, regional, and global Conferences of Youth ahead of COP. A final-year Ayurveda student, he describes how climate change disrupts Indigenous/traditional medicine by affecting medicinal plants, potency, treatment protocols, and trust, with implications like antimicrobial resistance. He presents Govardhan, an app envisioned as a global rep...
Apr 28
17 min
Season 3, Episode 21: Carter
Host John Whidden interviews Carter Mochinski from Lake Country, BC on Climate Action Figures. They discuss a QuickFix from Roger in Calgary about writing to companies as an investor, and Carter’s view that civic engagement with MPs/MLAs and corporations matters. Carter explains the Center for Global Education (CGE) and how it supports global climate education and youth participation. He shares highlights from attending COP30 in Belém, Brazil with CGE, including meeting Canada’s environment m...
Mar 31
21 min
Season 3, Episode 20: Chris
In Season 3, Episode 20 of Climate Action Figures, host John Whidden welcomes Chris from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and shares a QuickFix from Shaurya recommending the Outrage and Optimism podcast for hopeful climate conversations. Chris explains CPAWS’s conservation advocacy and public engagement, then details CPAWS Southern Alberta’s Youth Conservation Collective (YCC), a program for 15 to 18-year-olds that supports marginalized youth and others with environmental pas...
Mar 24
18 min
Season 3, Episode 19: Willow
Climate Action Figures celebrates passing 2,500 podcast downloads, sharing a listener QuickFix from Linda in Indio, California about switching from plastic reusable bottles to aluminum, and discuss recycling energy savings. They interview grade 12 student Willow McGrath from St. John, New Brunswick, who describes how nature and camp shaped her environmental passion and her work leading Earth Ed Experiential Learning. Willow explains receiving a $3,000 Ocean Wise grant to run environmental edu...
Mar 17
19 min
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