Liam Pope-Lau – Youth Advisory Council Member 2025-2026
About This Event
Liam Pope-Lau (he/him) is an innovator leading local and global change at the intersections of science, data, policy and legislation. Liam’s scientific research has advanced provincial legislation, and his innovative solutions are internationally recognized for their existing and potential impact.
Liam’s journey has centred on connecting science with policy by engaging the public in data collection to inform environmental legislation. This began in 2017 when Liam was shocked by the level of plastics found while participating at a local Surfrider Foundation beach clean-up. Keen to learn about the impacts of plastic pollution and microplastics, Liam built a microplastics testing unit and conducted a series of microplastics measurements in 2018 that revealed alarming levels of microplastics in Canadian waterways. In 2019, Liam entered his work into regional science fairs, winning several awards and garnering the attention of local environmental organizations (e.g. Surfrider, UVic Environmental Law Centre and Kids for a Plastic Free Canada). Liam partnered with these groups to present his research to the Government of British Columbia advocating for a single-use plastics ban and attended Committee Meetings on a National Strategy to Combat Plastic Pollution. This work ultimately contributed to plastics legislation by the BC Government implemented in 2024.
While supporting efforts to ban single-use plastics in Canada, Liam discovered that the absence of microplastics data hindered efforts to implement policies. In 2021 he partnered with Ocean Diagnostics Inc (ODI), an innovative environmental impact company, to be a volunteer Youth Ambassador for citizen science and advocate for microplastics research to drive government policy. Under Canada’s Zero Plastic Waste Initiative, Ocean Diagnostics collaborated with Environment and Climate Change Canada to design and pilot innovative community science tools and protocols. These efforts empowered the public to gather critical data, advancing understanding and driving solutions to microplastic pollution. Liam joined a team of volunteers to test and validate community science microplastics beach sampling protocols and tools. This joint research effort created the most comprehensive dataset to date on microplastic pollution across British Columbia’s shorelines.
From 2021 to today, Liam educates the public through demonstrations of leading microplastic detection technologies at local schools, beach clean-ups and social media and community events. He was a panel speaker for videos produced by Ocean Networks Canada (to share learnings from engaging with UN Sustainable Development Goal 13) and a local youth correspondent for World Ocean Day. His work also explores the connections between environmental and human health by integrating data for innovative insights and solutions.
Liam was recognized as a 2025 Finalist in the International Youth Innovation Challenge by the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP) for his “OceanLens” innovation and as a 2025 Semi-Finalist for the North American Brower Youth Award for Environmental Leadership, from the Earth Island Institute in Berkeley, CA. In 2024 he won the Canadian National Youth Climate Activism Award for his environmental leadership. As a member of the World Ocean Day Advisory Council, Liam continues to expand his journey of galvanizing global action at the local level to make change happen.