Patricia Lane
Columnist | Victoria
About Patricia Lane
Patricia Lane's column gives voice to climate leaders across Canada, in their own words. They are mostly young but some showcase elders whose focus has shifted to climate in their later years.
Patricia specialises in collaborative decision-making, public policy creation and effective climate communication. As a lawyer, she worked in every region in Canada in diverse areas such as tax policy, human rights, economic development, restructuring health care, family law and labour law, human rights, securities law, climate change, real estate and land development, wilderness protection, renewable energy, housing, and Aboriginal rights and title.
How to craft laws that protect the most vulnerable to climate change
Jessica Kai Paisley is helping craft international laws that lift up the voices of women and others whose vulnerability is multiplied in the presence of climate impacts. This 27-year-old legal scholar from Vancouver was a researcher and delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Clothes with colours that marry science, nature and design
Roya Aghighi partners with microbes and other living organisms to design and manufacture colours. This 34-year-old from Vancouver co-founded Lite-1 to harness the power of microorganisms to transform organic waste into sustainable, eco-friendly colourants at scale. It won the 2025 Web Summit Vancouver's PITCH competition for early stage start-ups.
Ethical investments can make a difference
Tim Nash is changing investment finance to support the continuation of life on Earth as the founder and president of Good Investing.
Scouts plant trees to help conserve Canada's future
Kaelem Moniz is helping young people see the forest and plant trees. As special advisor to Scouts Canada’s national leadership team, this 20-year-old University of Toronto student donates his time to growing the scouting movement in Canada.
'Super-cool' birds of prey make valuable contributions
Ginger Boehme-Vertefeuille invites us to get close to raptors. This 19-year-old from Cowichan Valley, British Columbia, spends her summers educating visitors at Vancouver Island’s The Raptors.
The power of local food to build community health
Casandra Fletcher is executive director of the One Straw Society. This Sunshine Coast, British Columbia elder uses the power of local food to build her community’s health and resilience.
How to create a climate-safe future
Trenton McIntyre helps people across Canada plan for the climate emergencies coming their way. This 30-year-old from Victoria, BC, works at My Climate Plan, a non-profit with a mission to create a climate-safe, affordable future for everyone.
Committed to clean energy in the North
As director at Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC), 32-year-old Heather Shilton is passionately committed to ensuring communities drive the clean-energy transition.
Students educating students about climate change
Juliana Janot wants all post-secondary students to understand climate change. This 20-year-old University of British Columbia student co-founded Climate Education for All (CEFA) (@climateeducation4all on Instagram) to make sure every student is educated about the causes and impacts of the climate crisis and its solutions.
Seeing and saving the forest for the trees
Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations destroying their forest homes.