For our last post on young environmental heroes this month, we would like to celebrate the winners of Action For Nature’s 2012 International Young Eco-Hero Awards. These awards “recognize young people 8 to 16 years old for their environmental achievements.” The organization says they “hope the accomplishments of these outstanding young people will inspire many others to preserve and protect the Earth upon which all life depends.”

There are winners from all over the world, including South Africa, India, the United

States, Rwanda, and Canada. Here is a look at some of the winners, but you can see the full list here.

Maria Clarisse Nyirabahire, a 14 year old from Rwanda, noticed that certain farmers were diverting water away from farmland in her village, which meant the villagers did not have enough water to grow crops. To address this problem, Maria started a dance troop and began working with other non-profits to raise almost $1,700! This money was writing my essay used to purchase equipment so that water from the nearby river could be pumped to local fields, which could then grow crops and help feed people in the village.

Eleven year old Nissan Abraham Pani from India found that many people in his town, especially young people, did not know how to protect and care for the environment. So Nissan decided to help create awareness amongst young people and communities, particularly about the dangers of deforestation, the importance of planting trees, and ways to stop pollution. Using birthday money from his grandparents to start his project, Nissan worked with his family and his church to create a group that raised money for projects and educating people about the environment. He has provided 3,000 saplings to three different communities, as well as created seven “Save the Planet” groups for young people, and education three thousand people about ways to care for the earth!

Cassandra Priebe from the United States is just 9 years old and she started “Cassie’s 5,000 New Trees Fund” to raise money to buys saplings to plant. She raised money by selling her own drawings, clay sculptures and jewelry to her family and friends and donated the money to Trees for the Future. What inspired her to start her project? She realized that people do not recognize that when they destroy trees, they are also destroying the animals that live in and depend on those trees, which messes up the eco-system and ultimately the planet and humans. As Cassie said, “The end result is that people are actually destroying themselves along with everything else.”