Hello, my name is Denniele Mendoza and I am currently 17 years young. Coming from Filipino and Argentinian descent, I grew up in the States in a somewhat rough and underdeveloped neighborhood, it’s here where I first noticed how prevalent “climate racism” is, and how we as members of the community, fail to realize how bad of a problem it is. Stuff like from not having enough green spaces to even having contaminated water, these are what aspires me to become a climate activist. Ever since I moved to Montreal, I gasp in awe by how different and and cleaner it is here, there are numerous parks in every block, clean water in pretty much every household, the absence of pollution that can’t even compare to what I used to pass by in the streets of where I grew up in, and even having some of the best bicycle lanes I’ve ever seen my whole life. These are the things that gives me hope, I believe that if we can have an eco-friendly space here, we can have an eco-friendly space everywhere.

Thanks to the Evergreen Youth Lab and to the C-Vert program, I have learned and discovered many ways of combatting these climate problems and gaining motivation to fight for such causes. Being apart of a loving community has kindled my flame to become an activist and to speak when needed to. I was never really the type of person to spread awareness nor do I believe I am capable of changing the entire world by myself, but being part of a group, whether it be tens, hundreds, thousands of members, can certainly affect our society and leave our mark on it. I believe that we can collectively make a change and this Evergreen Youth Lab is only a step forward.