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.
Merging good times with climate activism
Jose Reyeros sees his Latinx culture as a pathway to climate resilience. The 23-year-old University of British Columbia graduate is co-founder and leader of Ritmos Climáticos.
The world needs less ‘cool,’ more climate-friendly
As the founder of Really Good Work, Drew Minns and his team design and implement online consumer experiences with the health of our planet front and centre.
Teen leader keeps planet in mind
Fifteen-year-old Anna Brozek is teaching business leaders about sustainability. Starfish Canada named this Fall River, Nova Scotia student one of 2023’s Top 25 Environmentalists under 25 for her Planet in Mind website.
Sharing hope
Charlotte Taylor tells hopeful stories about the real impacts of climate change. The University of British Columbia student has been selected for a Climate Storytelling Fellowship as part of UBC’s 2024 Communicating Climate Hope conference.
Honouring invasive plants by turning them into art
Joshua Ralph honours the lives of invasive plants. The Vancouver-based artist, 25, hosts workshops teaching participants to make art supplies from plants removed in the work of restoring and rewilding.
Climate activists have this shoulder to lean on
As the head of communications for Sierra Club Canada, 30-year-old Conor Curtis supports environmental activists. He reminds us that a bad day never stopped oil and gas industry lobbyists, and we shouldn’t let one stop us either.
Family business commits to climate solutions
As president of Armour Valve, Liz McBeth led the company to recognize it exists to enable an energy and industrial landscape that ensures prosperity for future generations and the planet.
The art of youth climate activism
Finnegan Brown, 16, uses art and political action to protect our climate. A high school student from Sooke, B.C., Brown received a 2023 I-SEA Youth Climate Activism Award.
Harnessing community to protect our climate
As a founder of the youth-led, not-for-profit Community Climate Council, Miranda Baksh helps volunteers in the racialized and newcomer-dominated Peel region of southern Ontario learn how our changing climate impacts them and the places they know.
Blooming awareness and climate action
As co-founder and executive director of Black Eco Bloom, Tyjana Connolly, 25, lifts up Black womxn’s voices, raises awareness about the disproportionate impacts of climate change on Black communities and builds resilience through knowledge-sharing.