The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, an award that honors inspiring youth across the U.S. and Canada, celebrates young conservationists on Earth Day and all year long. Established in 2001 by author T.A. Barron, the Barron Prize honors outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people or the environment.
鈥淲ith all that nature gives us 鈥� wisdom, inspiration, connection 鈥� it鈥檚 only right that we give something back,鈥� says T.A. Barron. 鈥淥ur Barron Prize young heroes remind me that each of us has the power to be a steward of this Earth, whether by reducing waste, supporting wildlife, or simply sharing our love of nature with others.鈥�
The Barron Prize celebrates these recent winners who are deeply committed to protecting the planet:
Anisha Dhoot designed a machine learning-based platform to support sustainable agriculture and help mitigate climate change. The system she created regenerates soil and improves crop yields, providing small-scale farmers with a strategy for climate-friendly agriculture, especially in developing countries facing food insecurity.
Asa Miller created 隆Viva el Vivero! or Long Live the Nursery!, an international campaign to help communities in Cuba restore their country鈥檚 stunning coral reefs. He produced a documentary that has won awards at film festivals across the world.
Carter Medved started three youth-led initiatives — CrushCarbon, EnviroVols, and WattSherpa — to make sustainability accessible, actionable, and community-driven. His initiatives have guided more than 100,000 people in taking steps to reduce emissions, volunteer together, and better understand the climate solutions within reach.
Cynthia Zhang founded Monarchs Matter to combat biodiversity loss and climate change through the protection of monarch butterflies. Since founding her nonprofit in 2023, she has supported more than 330 youth from over 20 schools in raising, tagging, and releasing monarchs.
Alaina Zhang of Rhode Island created Harvesting Change to explore native seaweed鈥檚 potential to reduce nitrogen pollution along Rhode Island鈥檚 coast. Her research demonstrates that sugar kelp farming could significantly reduce coastal nitrogen overload, which threatens marine life.
Ethan Hua founded the H.O.P.E. (Help Our Planet Earth) school uniform recycling program to reduce textile waste in his California community while alleviating financial strain on families.
Gia Providente is helping protect endangered diamondback terrapins in her community on the South Shore of Long Island through awareness signs in her town鈥檚 bayfront parks. The signs feature her turtle artwork and slogan, 鈥淕o Slow, Terrapins Below,鈥� since the turtles were regularly killed by cars and boat strikes.
Nicolina Pappas founded Nicolina鈥檚 Turtle Co., a nonprofit committed to reducing plastic use and educating others about the importance of conservation. She has developed a comprehensive and far-reaching Skip the Plastic campaign, encouraging communities to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics.
Srihan Sankepalle developed a low-cost, effective, and scalable system to remove microplastics from rivers, lakes and coastlines.聽 His chemically triggered, titanium dioxide-coated foam system captures and quickly degrades microplastics through the use of UV light.