Community Awards Celebrations

It’s the end of our first full year, and we want to thank our incredible community!
Join one of our two identical Zoom events to celebrate our collective achievements.

Wednesday, May 29th, 2024

Select one of the options below, depending on your time-zone or availability that day:

Session 1

10:00 – 10:45 AM Pacific Time
12:00 – 12:45 PM Eastern Time
6:00 – 6:45 PM London Time

Session 2

6:00 – 6:45 PM Pacific Time

May 30, 10:00 – 10:45 AM Tokyo Time

Program

To accommodate our international community we will be hosting two identical celebration events.
Both events will be online hosted via Zoom. Please RSVP above for the one best suited for you, depending on your time zone and availability.

Reception Hop on early to connect with others in the Wayfinder Society community.
Welcome
Year in Review Together we’ll reflect on our journey and our community’s collective accomplishments!
Awards and Guest Speakers Lifting up the Wayfinder Society educators and students doing outstanding work.
Looking Ahead to Next Year Sneak peek for what’s to come.
Closing
Afterparty Stay on for 30 minutes to hang out and play some games!

Celebrating our Collective Impact This Year

Thanks to each member of Wayfinder Society we’ve made a huge impact!

As a team, we were guided by 36 Actions Projects to take action at home, in school, and in their communities.

475 Actions

completed by

289 People

living in

38 Countries

with a total of

1386 Hours

spent addressing plastic pollution this year!

Celebrating our Student Mini-Grant Awardees

Announcing our Student Mini Grant awardees for 2024. These ten outstanding youth leaders, ages 16-25, are leading the way towards a world where plastic pollution is unthinkable. Join us is celebrating their achievements!

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Anghy

Anghy Aquino

Peru

Anghy was invited to attend this year’s International Model United Nations/STEAM Summer Program, organized by the UNESCO Center for Peace. This opportunity will enable her to collaborate with other young changemakers, raising awareness of plastic pollution and other harmful pollutants affecting her home country, Peru.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Chloe

Chloe McKenna

USA | Scotland

Chloe will be conducting research for her Master’s dissertation through the University of Edinburgh. She will explore the socio-ecological and cultural impacts of marine plastic pollution on Scottish island communities specifically on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Diego

Diego Arreola Fernandez

Mexico | Canada

Diego is a part of Green Speaking, an organization that plans conferences and events with the goal of empowering youth to become climate action leaders! They are currently planning two separate conferences, one in Mexico during the Summer and another in Toronto, Canada during the Fall.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Foday

Foday David Kamara

Rwanda

Foday is planning an educational workshop on plastic pollution at his university in Kigali, Rwanda to educate students about plastic pollution, solutions to help the problem, and inspire them to join the movement.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Hannah

Hannah Sherrod

USA | UK

Hannah will be starting her master’s degree in England studying Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter. Her focus is on advancing research in ecotoxicology, particularly studying the impacts of pollutants like microplastics on marine organisms and their habitats.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Pius

Pius Seda

Malawi

Pius was invited to attend the World Youth and Social Enterprise conference in Italy this Summer, where he will have the opportunity to share his two digital platforms, Mlimilink and Greenify Global, meant to streamline information on sustainable practices across Malawi and beyond.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Rae

Rae Landriau

Canada

Rae is one of 60 youth out of 670 applicants to be invited to attend the World Youth Parliament on Water in Indonesia this Summer to advocate for healthy waterways globally. During the conference, Rae plans on creating a multimedia campaign documenting the proceedings, outcomes, and calls to action during the conference.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Shamsuddeen

Shamsuddeen Abdulkareem

Nigeria

In 2023, Shamsuddeen founded Eco Poets, an awareness creation project aimed at using poetry as a tool to change the mindsets of his community members around climate change and other environmental issues. Eco Poets is currently working on new content directly related to plastic pollution to inspire change in Kano State, Nigeria and beyond.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Sulaiman

Sulaiman Abubakar Umar

Nigeria

Sulaiman is organizing community events aimed at fostering plastic pollution awareness within North Eastern Nigeria. Through these initiatives, he seeks to educate residents and advocate for sustainable practices. In addition, he will create educational flyers and other materials in the local language for wider distribution in the community.

Student Mini-Grant Awardee 2024 Yujin

Yujin Harada

USA | Japan

Yujin will be interning and conducting research this summer in Japan to further his education on the topic of plastic pollution. His internships will be with the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology for their International Pellet Watch project and the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society.

Celebrating our Educator Community

Join us in celebrating all of our Educator Mini-Grant awardees from this academic year!

Environmental Educator Pam Rydziski

Pam Rydzinski

Middle School – STEAM Coordinator
Read Pam’s spotlight

Spotlight on environmental educator - Ms. Holston

Elise Holston

High School – Science
Read Elise’s spotlight

Spotlight on environmental educator - Ms. Pieper

Michelle Peiper

High School – Hawaiian Language
Read Michelle’s spotlight

Community spotlight on a California environmental educator - Ms. Benitez

Kay Benitez

High School – Science
Read Kay’s spotlight

Spotlight on environmental educator - Mr. Ezeigwe

Clinton Ezeigwe

Environmental Justice Educator
Read Clinton’s spotlight

Spotlight on environmental educator - Ms. Lisha

Ruth Lisha

Middle School Community Teacher
Read Ruth’s spotlight

We’re looking forward to celebrating with everyone on May 29th! 

Register for one of two identical sessions above, depending on your time zone.