Claire Lee, a 16-year-old from Surrey, British Columbia, combined her passions for the environment and art to create less toxic watercolors.
Lee told the National Observer that she enjoyed painting about climate change, but the watercolors she used at school had chemicals in them, and wastewater was being put down the drain at the end of class. She was concerned about the water restrictions and the wasted water.
So she took it into her own hands and created an Eco-Palette. She aligned herself with local art stores that shared her values. She created multiple prototypes to create the final 25 colors out of plant nutrients and pure minerals. The leftover water can even be used to water plants.
Lee said, "I took Eco-Palette to the South Fraser Regional Science Fair, as well as the Youth Innovation Showcase, where I became a semi-finalist."
She's inspired by Greta Thunberg, who she said "also started small," and now wants to inspire more people to make a change.
Lee added, "I want to see a world where art and activism come together."
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Luckily, there are more young people like Lee trying to make a difference. For example, students from Boulder, Colorado, pushed the board to pass a resolution to make their school more environmentally friendly.
A Pitzer College student has started an upcycling business where she turned plastic into brightly colored benches for a primary school in Kenya.
Another teen in Utah started a project helping other teens get secondhand dresses so they could go to their proms. This project not only helped people get to their prom, but it can be wasteful to buy a dress you only wear for one night, and buying secondhand is always a good idea to give something a second life.
All of these projects can make an impact on people's lives and help the environment. You too can take local action to make a difference in your community.
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