Hear the inspiring stories of local environmental action

The London Eco Champion Awards 2026, hosted by the London Clean Air Initiative, celebrate local environmental leadership across the capital. Past winners demonstrate how targeted grassroots action cuts carbon footprints and restores biodiversity in urban spaces. Their successes offer exciting ideas for how you can get involved in neighbourhood climate action.

There are five categories:

• Mini Warriors, for budding environmentalists aged 5-11.

• Junior Heroes, for young people agd 12-16.

• Local Leaders, for individuals aged 18+.

• Super Schools, for schools and student groups.

• Impact Businesses, for SME's, charities and community groups.

  
  

Mini Warriors

Leo and Leos Animal Planet – 2025 Winner

Eleven year old Leo started Leo's Animal Planet to raise environmental awareness through digital storytelling and music. He raised over ten thousand pounds for conservation and street rewilding. Leo planted wildflowers, installed bird boxes and created habitats for pollinators at his Peckham primary school. He composed the original song Rewild and performed it live at Parliament Square on Earth Day 2023. Leo donated prize money from Action for Nature and WeNaturalists back to his school to build a wildlife garden.

Oscar Keane – 2024 Winner

Primary student Oscar Keane brought environmental action into his classroom by researching and presenting findings on The Big Plastic Count. His initiative led his entire class to log family plastic consumption data for the national campaign. Oscar cycles to school regularly, waters classroom greenery and turns off unused electronic displays. His consistent daily choices demonstrate how individual primary students prompt wider environmental awareness among their peers.

Junior Heroes

Inaaya Ijaz – 2025 Winner

Fifteen year old Inaaya Ijaz serves as Deputy Member of Youth Parliament for Redbridge and CVO for Kids Against Plastic. She removed single use plastic bottles from her school cafeteria and fronted the Poisoned by Plastic campaign with Nuud Gum. Inaaya presented youth climate demands at the Labour Party Conference and advocated for environmental education on national school curricula. She also met government leaders to support voting rights at sixteen. Her media appearances include BBC The One Show and ITV.

Henry Li and Alessandro Bocos – 2024 Winners

Henry Li and Alessandro Bocos co-lead student efforts within the High School Clean Investment Coalition. They convince institutions to divest endowment funds from fossil

fuels. At Westminster School, they organized a Clothes Swap Week raising charity funds and redirecting fifty two garments from landfills. Henry introduced carbon offsetting policies for school travel and switched school electricity to renewable suppliers. Alessandro expanded coalition outreach into Southeast Asia, led soil restoration projects in Manila and coordinated emergency flood relief.

Local Leaders

Lola May and Paddington Development Trust – 2025 Winner

Lola May joined the Paddington Development Trust as Climate Action Coordinator in 2024. She recruited thirty nine adult and junior Climate Champions to address environmental inequality in vulnerable communities. Her team adopted a section of the Grand Union Canal towpath under the Naturehood Watch initiative. They organize monthly Nature of Things talks with urban ecologists and published a cookbook with thirty six seasonal recipes. The group maintains an active messaging network sharing free outdoor activities to reduce local social isolation.

Gus Alston and Stonegrove Community Trust – 2024 Winner

Gus Alston turned community facility management into a model for urban renewable energy. As Stonegrove Community Trust Chief Executive Officer, Gus secured over one hundred ten thousand pounds in funding over three years. His effort completed the largest charity owned solar installation in London by September 2024. The two hundred ten solar panels power the community centre and twelve nearby homes, saving fourteen tonnes of carbon annually.

Super Schools

St Robert Southwell Eco Council – 2025 Winner

Jessica Dobrowolski and the St Robert Southwell RC Primary School Eco Council won the Super Schools category. Jessica managed a public private partnership to construct a living green wall that absorbs carbon and improves playground air quality. The student

led Eco Refill Shop diverted over five hundred plastic bottles from waste streams. Jessica authored grant applications with Brent Council to implement a site wide Climate Action Plan alongside new outdoor learning spaces.

Millfield School Eco Champions – 2024 Winner

Millfield School drives environmental accountability through student led initiatives and daily habit changes. Pupils operate Fill Up Fridays to sell eco refills and reduce single use containers. To protect asthmatic students, the school secured a School Street zone restricting motor vehicles near school gates during pickup times. Students upcycled wooden crates into wall planters, created roof terrace gardens and organize weekly neighborhood litter picks.

Better Business

Surplus to Supper – 2025 Winner

Surplus to Supper, the winner of the inaugural Better Business award, redirects surplus food from local farms, restaurants and supermarkets away from landfills to feed Londoners in need. The food rescue charity implemented a recycling framework that reduced landfill waste by forty percent over two years. Their logistics operation uses data analytics to coordinate fuel efficient pickup routes for carriers. Organic waste that cannot be redistributed goes directly to local composting facilities to enrich regional soil. Participating businesses gain tax deductions while reducing waste disposal fees.

Nominate for London Eco Champion Awards 2026

The London Clean Air Initiative welcomes nominations for the next London Eco Champion Awards. If you or someone in your community leads local environmental work, submit a nomination today and be in with chance to win some fantastic prizes (including £500 cash) and become London's next Eco Champion.