Since beginning her environmental campaign she’s achieved some incredible things. The Federal Government pledged $15.7 million to help clean up the river. She’s worked to inspire other students in Nova Scotia through workshops and her new book, My River: Cleaning up the LaHave River. Recently, her Municipal Council voted in favour of applying for the Federal Government’s $17 million Building Canada Fund—which will cover two-thirds of the cost to remove the straight sewage pipes (with homeowners paying the other third over seven years). It’s estimated all 600 pipes will be eliminated by 2023.

As an EF Canadian Youth Ambassador, Stella joined her fellow Ambassadors for an unforgettable journey into the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador, staying at the Minga Lodge with our partners at ME to WE. “I met other kids on this trip who I could really relate with, and in a way, I feel less alone in my unique journey of environmental activism,” she told us. “I went from being a little girl focused on one river, to riding a boat down the Napo River in the Amazon! How crazy and awesome is that?”

As she broadens her environmental activism outward from her original mission, this journey has allowed her to see how essential initiatives like hers are to the world. For her and others like her, EF Canadian Youth Ambassadors has created a collaborative environment where young people can cultivate their ideas in groups of like-minded peers. It’s one way we are empowering our future leaders to create real and lasting change in this world.