Eco-grief into action: Edisa Zorilla

We interviewed Edisa Zorilla to explore how she channels her intersections as an immigrant, climate activist and outdoor enthusiast into community building. Her story resonates on many levels; Edisa embodies the humble, energized and passionate core of the outdoors community. Her story reminds us that we all have a role to play in sharing the outdoors with others, and ensuring we protect nature for future generations. 

Growing to love Canadian winter

Edisa was born in the Philippines with two seasons: extreme heat and extreme rain. Snow existed only in her freezer. Then, in the middle of January, her family moved to Canada.

“I questioned my parents all the time,” she laughs. Edisa turned to exploring the Canadian outdoors, expressing immense gratitude for having the Rockies right in her backyard. 

Today, Edisa is an Edmonton-based chapter lead for Protect Our Winters Canada, an environmental organization leading the outdoor community to protect the places and experiences we love. She is also, by her own description, extroverted, curious, and committed to making sure the outdoors belongs to everyone.. She is also, by her own description, extroverted, curious, and committed to making sure the outdoors belongs to everyone.

“You put yourself at the trailhead of a summit, look up, and you think: wow, I am so small,” she says. “All the stress from the city just falls away.”

That feeling of smallness, she believes, is exactly what draws people toward protection. You cannot stand at the edge of something magnificent and not feel the instinct to defend it. For Edisa, that instinct became urgent as she watched the landscape begin to change around her.

Specifically, the Jasper fire really hit close to home. Driving up to Marmot Basin, a route she had taken countless times through a corridor of towering, forested peaks, she felt the loss. The trees that had lined that road for as long as she could remember were gone. The hills were bare. 

“You’re in this solemn approach to something you’ve loved so much … and you want to do as much as you can to help, to advocate.”

Taking action

As a Protect Our Winters chapter lead, Edisa channels her eco-grief into action. Her work focuses on something she cares deeply about: lowering the barrier to entry. Not everyone arrives outdoors the same way and not everyone sees themselves reflected in it.

One of her recent events as chapter lead was a cross-country ski demo day in partnership with Salomon. The afternoon was designed specifically for people who had never clicked into a pair of ski bindings before. Experienced Nordic athletes showed up alongside total beginners. The snow was slushy. The conditions were imperfect. And that, Edisa points out, became the conversation.

“People learning for the first time were asking “Is this normal”? Is this what skiing is supposed to feel like?” she says. “And unfortunately, that’s just what we’re navigating now. That’s climate change.”

Edisa’s experience is becoming the norm, as more winter sports are threatened by climate change. These conversations are important in driving action at the community level, whether that’s learning more, engaging in political advocacy, or trying to reduce your own impacts. 

Edisa’s community building effort is simple and powerful: you build a community of people who love winter by first getting them into winter, and once they’re there, they are one step closer to protecting it. 

You can be part of the movement 

At the Outdoor Council of Canada, we believe that guides, outdoor leaders, and community advocates like Edisa are among the most powerful forces for environmental stewardship. They don’t just take people outside. They change how people see the world they live in and what they’re willing to fight for.

Edisa puts it simply: “I want to be able to experience this with my kids. I want them to see what I’ve seen.”

This humble, personal, and quietly urgent desire is exactly the kind of force that drives change. Edisa’s story is a reminder that the outdoor community grows one person at a time, one event at a time, one first-time skier clicking into their bindings on a slushy afternoon in Edmonton at a time. Ultimately, every person who falls in love with the outdoors becomes someone with a reason to protect it.

Edisa’s story leaves us with the call to action to look for local outdoor and environment groups in your community, volunteer, get engaged, and be part of the movement. We all can present the environment to protect it! 

A upcoming “Run for Winter Campaign with Protect Our Winters and The North Face” is now live – check out options to engage across Canada.