This is episode three of our Youth Action & the Environment Pilot Fellowship documentary series, produced by My Media Creative as part of their Climate Warriors Series. Each film captures the incredible stories of four fellowship recipients, the projects they’ve championed, and how much they have grown as environmental leaders.
Protect the Tract, The Community Hub Network & Land Stewardship
In the heart of the Haldimand Tract, a story of resilience, community building, and environmental stewardship unfolds through the work of Protect the Tract and youth volunteer Serena Mendizabal. As a Cayuga Panameñas woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Serena’s dedication to Indigenous land defense has led her to create impactful change in her community and beyond.
Alongside her full-time work, Serena has been instrumental in developing The Community Hub Network for Protect the Tract. This network aims to bring together kinship and allyship in cities and towns along the Haldimand Tract through multiple community hubs, working toward a shared vision for Haudenosaunee sovereignty and environmental justice.
“In Six Nations, we only have 5% of our territory left after we were put into a reserve. So our territory expands beyond these fake borders, and we have relationships with the land around us, urban or rural, that still has an ancestral connection to our people, the Haudenosaunee.”
“With the Community Hub Network, I wanted to expand our reach and our allyship around Protect the Tract, building relationships across the entirety of ancestral territory into the Haldimand Tract and Beaver Hunting Grounds to help support the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s moratorium on development.”
An important aspect of Serena’s work in the Haldimand tract is land stewardship, which aims to maintain the delicate balance between humans and the environment on Haudenosaunee ancestral lands, focusing on sustainability and responsiveness to climate change by protecting waterways and ecologically sensitive areas from non-consensual development. Through her efforts with Protect the Tract, the community hubs have brought together land defenders, community members, and allies to put their hands in the ground, plant in community gardens, and reconnect with the Haudenosaunee’s historic agricultural and environmental roots.
“When you are looking at these spaces, you’re seeing orchards, and families and people coming together. When you have those relationships, it’s beautiful because what comes out is joy and creativity because we have each other, and we have the land, and we are finally able to be who we are.”
The building of community connections and relationships to protect and bring together her people are themes that are deeply important to Serena and have also helped to inform her environmental leadership. This was perfectly encapsulated when she reflected on her new project developing a sustainable solar microgrid project for her own ceremonial longhouse.
“When I do this work, it’s not only to protect the environment, and the lands and the waters, it’s also to protect my own people and protect who we are as Haudenosaunee and protect the culture and the ceremony – it’s very interconnected for us.”
Building Bridges Beyond Borders
Over the past year, Serena participated in the Youth Action & the Environment Pilot Fellowship, which helped her to access critical resources and funding that could deepen her impact.
“Protect the Tract is a grassroots organization that is completely volunteer-based. That can lead to not the healthiest financial well-being, so being a part of the Fellowship helped me continue our work.”
“I developed new relationships through three different hubs in Kitchener, Haldimand–Norfolk, and Brantford—Brant, which helped to connect our community to others along the tract who also have a shared vision for a just future for Indigenous sovereignty and our environment.”
“The available funding also helped us advance different events and priorities that could support Protect the Tract’s mission, from doing a concert in Haldimand–Norfolk to a book club in Brantford–Brant and solidarity day in the Kitchener Waterloo Area.”
Navigating Leadership Growth
Serena’s journey in environmental action has spanned over eight years, but the last two have been especially instrumental in her growth as a leader.
“Being given opportunities, funding, mentorship, and having others believe in you really expands your own confidence in knowing that you are able to make a difference.”
These experiences also helped Serena grow in ways she had not anticipated, including learning to overcome complex community dynamics and embracing them as a stepping stone to fostering inclusive dialogue.
“Navigating communities and building relationships with different kinds of people helped me learn how to stand up for myself and prioritize my own needs. This journey of leadership has been about finding strength in vulnerability, learning from those around me, and setting boundaries to ensure that I can continue this work sustainably.”
A Lifelong Commitment to Youth, the Land, and Community
From the age of six, when she watched her mom begin to engage in youth community work, which she continues to this day, Serena has recognized the importance of supporting, resourcing, and uplifting young people and advocating for their perspectives to be heard.
“I always think about our teaching that shares with us that young people are closer to the Creator, and as we grow old, that connection is more hidden. It shows that young people, youth and children bring knowledge that adults and our elders don’t necessarily have, and with it, new opportunities, ways of knowing and seeing the world to implement solutions for everyone.”
“We need to prioritize and understand what young people want because we are the ones inheriting the mistakes of yesterday. So, I really believe that building up our young people into leaders and really supporting them through mentorship and resources is a necessity because we are going to change the world, and we’re already seeing it.”
Recently, Serena has taken a step back from her work with the Protect the Tract, opening space for others to grow as leaders and build new relationships.
“Relationships are everything to us–how are we supposed to make these large-scale decisions that will benefit our local community when we don’t even have kinship with each other?”
“That’s why I embarked on this project and why I’ll be stepping away now to let other people lead in their respective areas, so they can take these opportunities to the next level and be their own leaders around allyship and relationship building in support of Protect the Tract.”
Finding Strength in Community and Mentorship
As she opens a new chapter in her journey of environmental stewardship and Indigenous advocacy, Serena continues to be deeply motivated by the indispensable role that her community has played in inspiring and guiding her path forward.
“I do all my work because I have a community; I care about my family, I care about my nation, and that’s what gets me through these trying times. It’s because I have such a deep love for the people around me and the territory I come from that I want to do this work and build healthier futures.”
Her advice to other young leaders: don’t ignore the transformative importance of mentorship– embrace the opportunities to build relationships and learn from those who have already walked the paths you now find yourselves on.
“Find those people, those elders, those supporters from another generation who you can learn from because there is so much to learn, and I don’t think we can be leaders without mentorship; I think it’s essential.”
Embracing the Future with Hope
Serena’s story and dedication to creating sustainable, community-centered environmental solutions are testaments to the power of equipping and empowering young leaders with the resources they need to tackle the challenges they see around them.
“As I move forward, I’m motivated by the potential to work within my community and drive other community-based solutions across so-called Canada. Coming back from COP28, all I could think about was how excited I was to continue my projects at home.”
“We talk a lot about the issues facing our planet but not as much about the solutions we put forward. My passion now lies in creating those solutions, rooted in community and driven by the wisdom of Indigenous knowledge.”
You can learn more about Protect the Tract on their website and connect with Serena on Linkedin here.