The Brower Youth Awards (BYA) elevates the work of emerging environmental leaders in North America, celebrates their achievements, and provides them with the skills, resources, and relationships to further their work. Earth Island honors six exceptional youth with a Brower Youth Award each year at a free community Awards Ceremony, and provides year-round support and leadership development to our 92 BYA alumni as well as hundreds of young environmental and social justice leaders in our network.
One of the greatest issues worldwide is the health of our planet and all of its inhabitants. None of us is immune to the environmental threats we are facing today. Climate change, water and air pollution, and species extinction directly and indirectly affect each and every one of us. In all of the environmental "doom-and-gloom," it's easy to feel discouraged and immobilized. We need to see and celebrate exemplary problem solvers to mobilize toward a shared, vibrant, sustainable world.
Brower Youth Award Winners are rising to today's environmental challenges and making real change in their communities. Our young award winners, ages 13 - 22, are taking leadership and creating solutions for a healthier, cleaner, and more just world. Our annual community Awards Ceremony honors these young environmental leaders, and year-round youth programming gives them -- and the hundreds of other applicants -- the visibility, connections, tools, and resources to continue their important work.
Since 2000, Earth Island Institute has awarded 92 youth with a Brower Youth Award. Over 80% of our Alumni are currently working in the environmental and social justice fields, and many are leaders at prominent environmental organizations. The short films profiling each winner and his/her cause have won Emmy awards and have been featured on the Sundance Channel, PBS, and in classrooms around the world. The videos serve as important and lasting tools to educate and inspire others.
