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As world leaders gathered at the United Nations last month, three University of Vermont students took the global stage to advance a new legal effort to protect the planet.

Juliana Neira, Shashank Poudel, and Nina Smolyar—an international trio of �պ����� graduate students studying environmental and social issues—were invited by U.N. organizers to represent global students at the New York City event, which explored a provocative legal idea being considered in the fight to protect nature.

“Giving legal rights to nature, just like people have legal rights. That’s the idea, essentially,” said Neira, a Gund Graduate Fellow from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “It could be a powerful tool for protecting ecosystems and species at risk.”

, an interactive event held on Earth Day 2023, gave the Catamounts an unforgettable hands-on experience, bolstering their learning in the Leadership for the Ecozoic program, a partnership between the University of Vermont and Canada’s , a 90-minute drive north of �պ�����’s Burlington campus.

The students’ phones have been blowing up with excited messages ever since. “My family is so proud,” said Neira, a PhD student from Bogotá, Colombia, noting that parents of students she taught have reached out with pride.

An Emotional Journey

For Smolyar, a PhD student who immigrated from Soviet Russia as a child, speaking at the U.N. was a thrilling prospect.

“I spread my father’s ashes at the U.N. headquarters five years ago—so returning to speak this time was even more meaningful for me,” said the Gund Graduate Fellow from the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. “Growing up in Russia, the U.N. symbolized our connection to the rest of the world and Russia's place in it. The U.N. is not perfect, but it represents a continuity in my life of people working to end war and establish peace.”

“This was my first time doing anything like this—and it was fairly dramatic,” said Poudel, a Gund Graduate Fellow and PhD student from Biratnagar, Nepal, remarking on the crowd’s energy, rapidly changing event schedules, and fiery debates on the costs and benefits of assigning legal personhood to nature and species.

When Poudel’s expected role—a formal question to the panels of experts—didn’t materialize, he helped Neira and Smolyar with their speeches. They solicited classmates' and colleagues’ feedback on their speeches, which Poudel helped to incorporate on the Amtrak train ride to Manhattan. “We wanted to represent our community here, not just ourselves,” said Poudel, who has co-designed and taught a course on logic and philosophy for elementary students. “It was a collective effort.”

Speaking in the U.N.’s iconic headquarters on April 24, 2023, Neira and Smolyar argued forcefully for the rights of nature and promoted other Earth-friendly approaches, including agroecology, ecological economics, , , and . (Watch and speeches on YouTube.)

Following in the footsteps of Gund PhD candidate Megan Egler, who , Neira ended the event with a call for a generational shift in power. “The youth were fired up by that,” said Smolyar, who recently completed �պ�����’s . “Young people from around the world swarmed us afterward, hoping to connect, eager to learn about the innovative work happening at �պ����� and beyond.”

Energizing Experience

The students, who each wore traditional items from their home countries, were energized by the experience—and changed.

“Everyone was so passionate and committed—it was inspiring to help build a movement for the long-term,” said Smolyar. “Looking back, I’ve been reflecting on how the stress and pressures we were all managing are part of the spiritual and intellectual work of changing complex global systems.”

Neira, who’s been awarded a research internship at the University of Santa Catarina in Brazil this fall, agreed. “This was definitely out of my comfort zone,” she said. “But the experience and the response to it has given me a powerful boost—to finish my degree strong, to have a positive impact on the world—to just keep going.”

Explore Gund Doctoral Fellowships and other �պ����� Graduate programs and funding, including the Leadership for the Ecozoic program.