SOPHIA ZAMARIA was the recipient of the 2011 Orangeville Sustainability Action Team (OSAT) youth environmental sustainability award Monday night at Town Hall. She was presented the award by OSAT chair town councillor Sylvia Bradley. Photo/DAN PELTON Sophia Zamaria is a walking counterpunch to those who attack the younger generation for its supposed apathy and selfindulgence.

On Monday night, she was honoured for the countless hours she has given to environmental and humanitarian causes.

Few who know the 17- year-old were surprised to hear that she is the recipient of the 2011 youth environmental sustainability award; handed out by the Ontario Sustainability Action Team (OSAT) at Monday’s public council meeting.

A former Orangeville District Secondary School (ODSS) student – now on a full scholarship at the Lester B. Pearson International School of Studies in Victoria, B.C. – Ms. Zamaria has spent her time at home spearheading local environmental projects.

She was instrumental in local youths setting up a climate change information booth at the Market on Broadway and was the first youth member of OSAT. Active in the Environmental Club at ODSS, Ms. Zamaria was involved in recycling, a school garden and yard cleanups.

In 2009, she was she was the recipient of the Youth Award from Credit Valley Conservation.

As an ODSS student, Ms. Zamaria also founded Acts of Random Kindness (ARK). This unique initiative challenged fellow students to reach out to their community with benevolence and good will, succeeding in raising funds for such causes as breakfasts for underprivileged kids and donations to local community organizations.

Yet, despite her litany of accomplishments, Ms. Zamaria said in an interview that the OSAT award caught her off guard. “It came as a big surprise. I wasn’t expecting it at all,” she said. “It was one thing to get the award, but it was also good to see that all my efforts have been recognized.”

“Sophia’s accomplishments are special because she is a leader in environmental initiatives that bring knowledge and awareness to our young people – our future,” Councillor Sylvia Bradley, who chairs OSAT, said Monday night. “Sophia continues to learn, inspire and lead and is not afraid to delve into unknown territory or to get her hands dirty. She is a role model not only to youth but to all of us.”

Ms. Bradley’s kudos for Ms. Zamaria were returned during the interview.

“I want to thank her so much for guiding me, for mentoring me and for providing me with opportunities.”

As for being a teenager willing to step up to the plate for causes she believes in, Ms. Zamaria insists she is not alone in that regard.

“Yes, I’ve observed cynicism in people my age,” she admitted. “Even I have been cynical. But I feel at lot of youth in our community are taking action and it’s really nice to see.”

As for the negative image some skeptical members of older generations have for today’s youth, Ms. Zamaria suggests it is time “to focus on the positives and not on the negatives.”

The environmental projects she has been involved in “(may) have not lowered carbon emissions, but they have heightened awareness.”

One of only 25 Canadian secondary school students to earn the scholarship to the Lester B. Pearson school, she’ll enter her final year there in September.

Ms. Zamaria then plans to enroll in university to study human and environmental geography. During the summer Sophia has volunteered to tend the Town of Orangeville’s Baby Tree forests.