WCCC Student Noela Altvater Wins a Brookie Award from the Natural Resources Council of Maine

AUGUSTA, ME – The Natural Resources Council of Maine is pleased to award WCCC student Noela Altvater with a 2022 Brookie Award for her environmental leadership. The Brookie awards honors Maine’s young environmental changemakers for their leadership, creativity and positive impact for Maine’s environment. Noela grew up on the Passamaquoddy reservation at Sipayik. For decades, water in the community has been dirty, full of pollution, and undrinkable. Instead of ignoring the problem, as many have done over the years, Noela utilized the Passamaquoddy tradition of storytelling and modern technology in the form of a storymap to amplify the voices of her community and advocate for change. Noela creatively wove pictures, videos, scientific research, social statistics, and personal stories into a compelling virtual storymap to highlight the daily struggle for clean water in her community. Noela is proud to continue the work her grandmother, Denise, started many years ago and to fight for the rights of her community and for water, which her people consider sacred. Noela is a powerful young woman who is making a difference for her community by using creative tools, powerful storytelling, and speaking out for justice.