Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Women Who Protect the Earth
8 ANNE HIDALGO POLITICIAN Before she was the mayor of Paris Anne was a little Spanish girl in San Fernando Spain Born Ana María to a father who was an electrician and a mother who was a seamstress Anne moved to Lyon France with her family when she was two years old But she had trouble fitting in When she was in second grade her teacher told her that little Spanish girls don't make it to the top of the class Anne was ready to prove her wrong At 14 years old Anne became a French citizen Later she began to study social services and law She saw how hard it was for people to get housing or enjoy the outdoors She wanted to work in government so she could help people and change the way cities were structured Anne loved Paris and its ancient monuments and cathedrals But what about its future There were so many congested roads polluted rivers and parks covered in concrete Anne was determined to make the city greener In 2014 Anne became the first-ever woman to be elected mayor of Paris Since then she has transformed the city She banned cars from certain streets and helped build miles of new bike lanes to cut pollution She had thousands of new trees planted and invested in green roofs electric buses and free public transportation She also helped draft the Paris Agreement which is a plan and promise from many nations to fight climate change We've rediscovered quite simple things Anne says about her work simple but amazing like the joy of smelling cherry blossoms in the spring or finding shade on a hot summer day BORN JUNE 19 1959 SPAIN AND FRANCE
MY VISION FOR PARIS IS AS A GREEN CITY WHERE WE CAN ALL BREATHE FRESH AIR SHARE OPEN SPACE AND ENJOY OUR LIVES ANNE HIDALGO ILLUSTRATION BY ALICE PIAGGIO
AUTUMN PELTIER CLEAN WATER ACTIVIST Once upon a time there was a girl who believed that all water was sacred Her name was Autumn and she was born in the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island Canada Autumn loved being silly making slime with her sister and texting with friends But she was very serious about protecting the water people drink and the water that nourishes animals and plants and allows trees to grow tall Growing up in the Ojibwe Odawa heritage Autumn began performing water ceremonies when she was very little She would walk through fierce winter winds with her elders and kneel on a frozen lake She'd make a hole in the ice and dip in a special copper cup scooping out water and chanting a prayer of protection When Autumn was eight years old she attended a water ceremony Signs all over read DON'T DRINK THE WATER She learned that underground pipelines had contaminated the water It broke her heart In 2016 Autumn was chosen to present the Canadian prime minister with a special gift at an annual gathering for the First Nations With thousands of eyes watching she took a deep breath and handed him a copper water bowl Then she said I am very unhappy with the choices you've made She told him that he was hurting her people by allowing pipelines to pollute their water The crowd was shocked and inspired and the prime minister promised to help Since that day Autumn has traveled around the world raising her voice and demanding that leaders respect and protect our waters As she says Water is everything It's the lifeblood of Mother Earth BORN SEPTEMBER 27 2004 CANADA 10
WE ALL NEED WATER WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LIVE WITHOUT WATER NOTHING WOULD AUTUMN PELTIER ILLUSTRATION BY JING LI
