“Today is not just a celebration of what we learned. It is a celebration of what we are becoming.”
For Lateisha, that was the real story of Leaves of Legacy: Heroes of the Environment.
“We came together from different schools, different communities, and different backgrounds, but quickly became one camp family.”
And from the beginning, the experience was about much more than listening.
“It would be about teamwork, creativity, friendly competitions, and learning by doing.”
Through Caribbean storytelling, environmental films, games, local case studies, and hands-on activities, Lateisha and her fellow participants explored sustainability, biodiversity, food security, climate change, and the environmental challenges facing Trinidad and Tobago.
“We learned what sustainability really means, why biodiversity matters, how ecosystems support life, why food security is everyone’s responsibility, and how climate change affects our community.”
But they also learned to look closer to home. Lateisha reflected on discovering that many of the answers to these challenges can be found in “our own indigenous knowledge, local innovations, and cultural traditions.”
That understanding is also part of becoming a Hero of the Environment: knowing who we are, recognising the knowledge and practices already around us, and understanding that we each have something to contribute. 
And for Lateisha, the experience was already beginning to shape how the participants saw themselves.
“We are becoming young people who are more aware, more confident, and more prepared to become environmental stewards in our schools, our homes, and our communities.”
That is the legacy we want to grow young people who understand their environment, value the knowledge within their own communities, and have the confidence to put what they know into practice as Heroes of the Environment. 
