Generation of Environmental Leaders Program 2025

RegEnergy: Solar energy for regenerative farms

Spark Source Consulting: Sonia Vinogradova and Joe Workentin

RegEnergy is a women-led initiative, advancing solar energy in regenerative agriculture. As Canadian farms grow larger and rely on industrial farming practices, independent organic and regenerative-practice farmers need financial stability and energy resilience. RegEnergy installs solar systems on small farms, cutting costs, creating green jobs, and supporting women farmers.

With a 2024 proof-of-concept solar installation complete, Spark Source Consulting has demonstrated solar energy’s financial and environmental benefits for agriculture. Next, they aim to create open-source educational materials and events for easy solar adoption. The GELP will directly fund solar installation on two women-run farms, supplying organic food to a food bank and local community. It will also support solar showcase events to engage funders, farmers and students. These showcases will serve as educational opportunities about solar technology, its integration with farming operations, and food sovereignty through farming independence. Additionally, they will create a toolkit on solar adoption for farms, distributing it within policy networks such as the Ontario AgriFood Innovation Alliance. The project demonstrates a win-win climate solution while fostering sustainability, emissions reduction, and women’s leadership in both sectors.

Spark Source Consulting, led by women in solar energy, is dedicated to advancing renewable energy solutions that support sustainability and equity through their project: RegEnergy. Focused on small-scale agricultural projects, the organization partners with women farmers practicing regenerative agriculture to integrate solar technology into their operations. Through solar installations and educational showcases, RegEnergy creates opportunities for community learning, cost savings, and environmental stewardship. By empowering women in two key sectors, agriculture and renewable energy, the organization strives to create triple planetary solutions to the triple planetary crisis.

• Sonia Vinogradova (she/her)

Sonia is a lifelong advocate for sustainable solutions that help everyone lead greener, happier lives. She believes in community projects as a way to build a stronger social fabric and to find local solutions to global problems. Her background in climate finance and renewable energy showed her the solutions are available, they are just not implemented quickly enough. Through Spark Source Consulting, Sonia is reimagining how energy and capital flow through our economy to support people and ecosystems.

• Joe Workentin (he/him)

Passionate about climate action and sustainable development, Joe is a strong advocate for clean energy solutions that support both people and the planet. Joe is a Special Projects Manager at Spark Source Consulting, where he brings a background in climate science and energy policy to implementing solar energy projects. Through Spark Source, Joe advances projects that leverage clean energy to support farmers and contribute to Canada’s broader climate mitigation efforts. The solutions we need to face climate change exist, it’s about getting them across the finish line.

beneaththeberg.ca

Rescuing Isla Basura: Environmental Restoration and Circular Economy

Viva la Ola A.C.: Berenice Elizabeth Lizárraga Lizárraga and Nithzia Yulen Pineda Mendoza

Mazatlán, Sinaloa, is facing an environmental crisis due to poor management of solid waste and special handling waste, with a daily generation of 800 tons of garbage. The lack of infrastructure and legal gaps have resulted in large volumes of waste ending up in bodies of water, impacting coastal and marine ecosystems. One of the most critical sites, “Isla Basura (Trash Island),” a 2.4-hectare islet located between Isla de la Piedra and the industrial zone, is heavily polluted with unmanaged plastic and fishing waste that threatens its biodiversity, including mangroves, migratory birds, and olive ridley sea turtles (protected under NOM-059, and endangers ecosystem conservation and the health of nearby communities. This project was created to restore and preserve mangrove ecosystems through a comprehensive three-stage management plan.

Over the course of one year, the initiative has removed more than 2 tons of waste and restored 1.5 hectares of land, thanks to the participation of over 200 volunteers and the support of more than 20 allied organizations. This model aims to connect fishers, urban waste pickers, women, and youth around solutions that regenerate biodiversity, reduce pollutant emissions, and dignify the work of those who have historically been excluded from environmental management.

Viva la Ola A.C. is a youth-led, nonprofit organization founded in 2016 in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, in response to coastal environmental degradation. Its mission is to promote environmental restoration and community engagement through environmental education and the rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems. For eight years, they have organized beach clean-ups, promoted environmental education, and fostered a culture of respect for nature. Their early initiative, Playa Libre, mobilized volunteers for monthly clean-up events with waste sorting and awareness activities. In 2020, they helped certify Luna-Bonita beach through a partnership with OAP. They also run Guardianes de las Olas, an ongoing surf and nature project for children. Currently, they are developing “Rescuing Isla Basura (Trash Island),” a project focused on marine pollution prevention and circular economy practices, in collaboration with local fishers and other community actors.

• Berenice Elizabeth Lizárraga Lizárraga (she/her)

Berenice holds a degree in Biotechnology Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Sinaloa and is currently pursuing a master’s in environmental management at CIAD, in Mazatlán. Her academic background and experience focus on the utilization of agro-industrial waste under a circular economy approach, food quality and safety management, and the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems. As president of Viva la Ola A.C., she leads projects on environmental education and coastal ecosystem conservation. Currently, through the organization, she is developing Rescuing Isla Basura (Trash Island), an initiative for ecological restoration and sustainable ecosystem management with a regenerative and integrative approach.

• Nithzia Yulen Pineda Mendoza (she/her)

Nithzia is a biologist specialized in marine and coastal resource management from the Instituto Tecnológico de México and is currently pursuing a master’s in environmental management at CIAD, in Mazatlán, with a focus on ecological Big Data and high-frequency detection technologies applied to the study of migratory birds. Her research aims to develop more effective conservation strategies, particularly in response to the impact of pollution on migratory patterns and climate change. She is a fellow of the American Ornithological Society (AOS), a volunteer with the Road to Recovery program, and co-founder of Rescate de Isla Basura. She is also part of Viva la Ola, A.C. and leads a community-based waste recovery project through the Conservation Leadership Program of CBMC.

@vivalaolaa

@isla.basura

Youth-Led Food Waste Solutions: Driving Demand for US Infrastructure and the Green Economy

Let’s Go Compost: Lauren Mackenzie Click and Hanna Layton

The US public school system produces approximately 530,000 tons of food waste annually, a significant portion of which decomposes in landfills and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28 times greater than that of CO2 over a 100-year period. Yet most schools lack access to composting services due to financial constraints, limited infrastructure, and insufficient knowledge of waste diversion practices. This creates an environmental and economic burden, as schools pay for waste disposal while missing opportunities to reduce landfill contributions and foster green job skill training among students.

This solution was conceived from an analysis of these systemic barriers. Let’s Go Compost (LGC) provides an economically sustainable and scalable solution tailored to K-12 public schools. This low-cost, student-led composting program addresses waste diversion and environmental education gaps via STEM/STEAM principles by training students and educators on composting, equipping them with simple tools for food waste sorting and collection, and embedding programs into schools’ facility management budgets. This ensures programs continue independently after LGC transitions out, reducing reliance on grant funding. The model emphasizes local partnerships, leveraging community composting facilities, and aligning with municipal waste diversion goals to create long-term impact.

Let’s Go Compost is a US-based nonprofit dedicated to making composting affordable, accessible, and scalable in schools and communities. The organization currently supports over 120 composting programs in public schools across ten states, the majority of which are Title I. Its approach focuses on decentralized infrastructure, hands-on climate education, and long-term capacity building. The team provides training, consulting, and composting kits designed to meet the needs of under-resourced campuses with limited waste infrastructure. Let’s Go Compost was named Nonprofit of the Year by Circular Arizona and recognized by the US Composting Council, Stanley 1913, and others for its impact.

• Lauren Mackenzie Click (she/her)

Lauren Click is a recognized leader in the composting and circular economy space, driving systemic change in organic waste reduction, infrastructure development, and public education. As the founder of Let’s Go Compost, a national nonprofit, she is spearheading efforts to make composting affordable, accessible, and scalable across the United States. Through her leadership, Let’s Go Compost is advancing workforce development, decentralized infrastructure, and contamination reduction strategies to ensure long-term adoption of composting at the institutional and community levels.

• Hanna Layton (she/her)

Hanna Layton has been a leader in the sustainable food economy since 2019, founding two organizations dedicated to creating more equitable and sustainable food systems. She co-founded Epic-Cure, a nonprofit that has rescued and redistributed over 30 million pounds of food to families in need since 2019. She also founded Thrive Consultancy, where she collaborates with food entrepreneurs to build values-based businesses that integrate sustainable practices from the outset. Hanna has been a board member of Let’s Go Compost since 2022. She is passionate about developing long-term economic, social, and environmental solutions for resilient food systems.

@LetsGoCompost