Ben Simoni helps steer the way for the Youth Climate Corps
Ben Simoni, executive director of the Youth Climate Corps, hiking in Alaska. Photo by Melissa Lavery
By Patricia Lane
If you are between the ages of 17 and 30, Ben Simoni wants to hire you.
As the executive director of the Youth Climate Corps, this 32-year-old provides young people with living-wage jobs that include training, certifications, networks and future employment opportunities while implementing local solutions to the climate crisis.
This piece is part of a series of profiles highlighting young people across the country who are addressing the climate crisis. These extraordinary humans give me hope. I write these stories to pay it forward.
Tell us about your project.
In 2020, Nelson B.C.-based grassroots organization Wildsight asked if the multiple crises of climate change, youth unemployment and declining mental health among young people might be an opportunity for local action on climate change. With the support of the City of Nelson and senior levels of government, they hired 20 youth for six months and paid them a living wage to work on climate change mitigation or adaptation projects identified as priorities by the community.