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Decades before climate activism became a global rallying cry, when this critical movement had few visible public leaders, Andrew Simmons quietly and
steadfastly did the work of grassroots environmental advocacy in his native
St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Andrew was a young teacher who observed
environmental problems around him—like deforestation, coastal erosion, and
poaching—and set about working locally to address them.
As he progressed in his work, Andrew came to play a critical role in educating and mobilizing local youths to understand and take action to protect their
forests from overexploitation. He tapped into creative outlets like theatre and
music to engage the imagination of his community members. Realizing the
potential of empowering and energizing youth action, in 1978, Simmons created
a non-profit organization (JEMS) to further organize communities on the islands
around conservation; he later launched the Caribbean Youth Environment
Network. It was for Andrew’s work educating, inspiring, and mobilizing the
youth of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to protect the island’s natural resources
that he was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1994.
Following a massive Caribbean hurricane in 2013, Andrew, now based in
Sierra Leone, returned to the islands to partner with international organizations and provide relief support to families. Low-lying island nations have
been the first to face the negative consequences of climate change, and
Andrew has never forgotten the often-marginalized people on the frontlines.
Today, after years of building coalitions, knowledge, and successful programs,
Andrew has worked with organizations in more than 50 countries throughout
Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Africa to develop initiatives empowering
youths and addressing climate change and other acute environmental issues. To
cite just one example, because of Andrew’s trailblazing work, Sierra Leone
recently became the first African nation to implement a climate change adaptation curriculum at the tertiary level of its education system.
Thanks to Andrew’s unyielding advocacy and leadership, and the efforts
of hundreds of other grassroots environmental champions like him around the
world, climate change is globally understood as an existential threat to our
planet and youth activism is front-and-center in developing solutions.
Executive Director, Goldman Environmental Prize
Michael Sutton
San Francisco, CA, USA
Foreword
Decades before climate activism became a global rallying cry, when this critical movement had few visible public leaders, Andrew Simmons quietly and
steadfastly did the work of grassroots environmental advocacy in his native
St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Andrew was a young teacher who observed
environmental problems around him—like deforestation, coastal erosion, and
poaching—and set about working locally to address them.
As he progressed in his work, Andrew came to play a critical role in educating and mobilizing local youths to understand and take action to protect their
forests from overexploitation. He tapped into creative outlets like theatre and
music to engage the imagination of his community members. Realizing the
potential of empowering and energizing youth action, in 1978, Simmons created
a non-profit organization (JEMS) to further organize communities on the islands
around conservation; he later launched the Caribbean Youth Environment
Network. It was for Andrew’s work educating, inspiring, and mobilizing the
youth of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to protect the island’s natural resources
that he was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1994.
Following a massive Caribbean hurricane in 2013, Andrew, now based in
Sierra Leone, returned to the islands to partner with international organizations and provide relief support to families. Low-lying island nations have
been the first to face the negative consequences of climate change, and
Andrew has never forgotten the often-marginalized people on the frontlines.
Today, after years of building coalitions, knowledge, and successful programs,
Andrew has worked with organizations in more than 50 countries throughout
Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Africa to develop initiatives empowering
youths and addressing climate change and other acute environmental issues. To
cite just one example, because of Andrew’s trailblazing work, Sierra Leone
recently became the first African nation to implement a climate change adaptation curriculum at the tertiary level of its education system.
Thanks to Andrew’s unyielding advocacy and leadership, and the efforts
of hundreds of other grassroots environmental champions like him around the
world, climate change is globally understood as an existential threat to our
planet and youth activism is front-and-center in developing solutions.
Executive Director, Goldman Environmental Prize
Michael Sutton
San Francisco, CA, USA
Foreword