As we celebrate Earth Day, one of the most hopeful signs for our planet’s future is the knowledge that environmental activists are still showing up—and, these days, as young as nine-years-old.
Lilly Platt, for instance, is traveling more than 600 miles (1,000km) from Holland to the Norwegian coast so she can play a key role in a massive beach clean‑up and plastic waste conference.
The 9‑year‑old, together with her mother and grandfather, will be joining volunteers at the ‘Plastic Whale Coastal Clean‑Up and Conference’ on April 25th on the Norwegian island of Sotra.
The event is taking place in memory of the ‘plastic whale’, a Cuvier’s beaked whale that died on the Norwegian coast last year, its stomach full of more than 30 plastic bags.
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“I started picking up rubbish after seeing the effect that it had on wildlife,” says Lilly. “I knew that every piece I picked up, was one less piece that could harm a living creature.”
As well as helping to clean up the island’s coastline, the youngster will be attending a high‑profile conference on plastic waste, along with key figures in the environmental movement from around the world discussing the growing problem, and how to protect coastlines from further pollution. (See…
