May 13, 2020

Taking a Stand for Climate Change: Arianne Drainville

In light of the launch of our 2020 LNBF Earth Award, we caught up with our 2018 winner Arianne Drainville and her current sustainable initiatives.

After receiving the LNBF Earth Award in 2018, Arianne has been dedicating her time towards opening her own wildlife rehabilitation centre. She is currently studying the details of operating and managing this business, and although the project is taking longer than expected, she understands that there are many important steps in building a reliable rehabilitation centre. Arianne is preparing her business plan and soon taking action to make it happen with dedicated and proficient people to support her in her journey.

Juggling both the big project and completing her Bachelor’s Degree at the Université de Sherbrooke, Arianne continued to take action and participate in a strike for climate action. When she heard of Greta Thunberg and the first initiatives taken in Québec by Montreal students, she immediately wanted to do the same for the city of Sherbrooke and her university.

(Pictured above: Arianne and two other spokespeople filming a clip to promote the climate strike at the Université de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, QC.)

(Pictured above: Arianne with the University mascot on the first day of school this year September 2019. Even though she was done with school, she wanted to make sure her movement received the proper amount of love and dedication.)

(Pictured above: Arianne with her team on March 15th, 2019 at a painting activity before the climate strike.)

Within a week, she had gathered over fifty people that were interested in this cause and together they formed a committee where Arianne acted as the Coordinator and Spokesperson.

(Pictured above: Arianne in a crowd of climate strikers at the Université de Sherbrooke, with a turnout way beyond her expectations.)

Together, they mobilized the university community as well as other groups in Sherbrooke. Over ten student associations voted in favour of a general strike on March 15th, 2019: the same day as the worldwide climate strike.

(Pictured above: Arianne at her school climate strike making sure no one went in the wrong direction. Her banner is inspired by Greta Thunberg, an environmental heroine)

Arianne and her team successfully gathered over 2500 people to participate in the march, which was more people than the city of Sherbrooke has ever had for a march. Seeing a community come together to support the cause was truly inspiring and energizing for her! Speaking in front of the large gathering of people was one of her proudest moments. Although the march was successful, she knows that the fight is not over yet.

(Pictured above: Arianne On Earth Day in Quebec City)

(Pictured above: Arianne On Earth Day in Quebec City. Her banner is on the bottom left.)

Since then, Arianne has participated in every worldwide march for climate action, even while she was on vacation in Italy.

(Pictured above: Arianne at a climate strike in Firenze, Italy)

Participating in many worldwide movements has allowed Arianne to develop many meaningful relationships and she has built a strong emotional connection with everything she has experienced so far.

(Pictured above: Arianne receiving her Bachelor's degree in September 2019)

Arianne continues to work diligently on her wildlife rehabilitation project and dedicated the funds from the LNBF Earth Award to help her achieve her dream of opening a wildlife rehabilitation centre. We are deeply inspired by her continuous drive in environmental advocacy. We wish Arianne all the best in her future initiatives!

We are now accepting applications for our 2020 Earth Award! This year, we are supporting the winner with a $1000 grant for a community initiative, project, social-enterprise, or business that is making a positive impact on society and the environment.

We encourage everyone to apply, or nominate someone you know who is an advocate for sustainability and environmental improvement.

To learn more about the award and application process, click here.

Applications close on July 1st, 2020. Don't miss out!