Students on Climate: “We’re Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands”

Taking Climate Education Into Their Own Hands

All across New York state and the world, K-16 climate education is extremely limited. The National Wildlife Federation's intergenerational Climate and Resilience Education Task Force (CRETF) in New York is working to address this urgent need through policy, advocacy, coalition-building, and growing a youth movement in support of climate education.

In 2023, high schoolers participating in CRETF's Youth Steering Committee helped to draft a climate education bill and went to New York's state capital, Albany, to help lobby for its passage. Although the bill didn't pass during the 2023-24 legislative session, some students thought that more direct approaches might be effective while they waited around for political action.

CRETF Youth Steering Committee members Charlotte Cherrington, Ava Pham (both rising juniors), and Ellery Spikes (senior) found that taking matters into their own hands, by teaching children about climate change themselves, was both fulfilling for them and beneficial for students. Read on as the high school students talk about their experiences.

Charlotte Cherrington

As a sophomore, I thought that going back to my old elementary school, P.S.118, would be a great place to begin our climate change presentations. It is a small school, and I know the staff well, so it was a perfect fit. I first reached out to the vice principal to gather thoughts on the proposal, and a date was set after she expressed her excitement about it. Ava, Ellery, and I worked on the project proposal together, compiling a list of questions we wanted to ask about the content guidelines for the presentation, brainstorming ideas for engaging activities. Once everything was clear, we created a slideshow.

In our presentation, we went over many different components of climate change, most of them broad, but some aspects were specific to the experience of people living in New York City.

"Does anyone remember the wildfires or gigantic flood?," we asked the 3rd grade class. They could all relate to the struggles and fears that almost every New Yorker experienced during these climate crises. They explained that their field day got canceled because of the wildfires, and the hazy, orange sky made everything look apocalyptic. The indicators for poor air quality reached an all-time high in New York and people were advised not to step outside!

Additionally, the heavy rain storm on September 29, 2023 led to P.S.118's basement floor being flooded, and students had to walk around barefoot. Some of the classrooms in the basement of my high school were closed for weeks. These events are not normal. Wind and hot, dry air should not be so extreme that smoke spreads hundreds of miles. And rain should not be so harsh that many schools in the city get flooded, affecting the education of tens of thousands of students.

Ava Pham

It was motivating to see so many young students engaged in our mini lesson. Our slides covered a range of climate change topics. It was exciting to see how curious all the students were; they were asking tons of questions about humans' impact on our environment.

We read the book about Greta Thunberg "Our House is on Fire" aloud. I watched the students intently listening and saw how crucial climate activism was. I was proud that we were able to convey the need for climate education in schools across NY.

Our hands-on activity was a blast as well! Using recycled water bottles that were brought from their homes, the students were able to create their own hanging plant "pots" and learn about how growing their own plants could have a positive effect on the environment.

Ellery Spikes

When I visited the students in the 3rd grade classroom at P.S.118 with Ava and Charlotte, I looked at their young faces at the beginning of the presentation and wondered how much discussion they ever had with each other or adults in their lives about climate issues. I could not assume they had any. There was no mention of climate change in my elementary school and only a brief acknowledgment in a middle school science assignment.

I wondered if the kids were relieved to be able to talk with each other about their personal and collective experiences during recent extreme weather events in our own community, like the wildfire smoke in 2023 and the flooding from Hurricane Ida in 2021. Many kids are also exposed to news of climate impacts in other parts of the United States and the world.

The unpredictability of climate events causes confusion and confusion can be scary for anyone, particularly young children. I believe giving kids the opportunity to normalize thoughtful conversations about climate issues empowers them. With consistent dialogue, kids will learn about comprehensive efforts such as the 17 UN Sustainability Goals so they can understand that positive action and change is a goal in their own community and also where other children live all around the world.

Children are walking through the serious experiences caused by climate change and they deserve to be informed and empowered to make thoughtful decisions about their own lives and their future.

Not Waiting for System Change on Climate Education

Seeing younger children that are so eager, inspired, and genuinely interested in learning about climate change is what makes the fight for more climate education worth it. Trying to improve climate education standards won't work if students don't care about climate issues, understand why they are important, or demand change.

In the coming school year, the Youth Steering Committee will do more peer-to-peer presentations at schools and train other students to deliver them, too. While we wait for system-wide change, we will take matters into our own hands.

Charlotte Cherrington is a rising junior at a New York City public high school. She is passionate about environmental action. In 3^rd grade she and her friends raised money to support animals that lost their rainforest habitats due to deforestation. In 2024, she lobbied for CRETF's climate education bill in Albany.

Ellery Spikes served in a leadership role in the Youth Steering Committee for three years. She is starting college in August 2024. Ellery believes that to achieve a just and sustainable future, we must raise a generation of conscientious and engaged students, starting in our classrooms. In 2023, Ellery led the YSC E-Board, helped draft CRETF's climate education bill, and coordinated lobbying efforts in Albany.

Ava Pham is a rising junior at a New York City public school. She is part of her school's business program and has developed a passion for helping her community. She hopes to spread awareness about the impact that climate change has on health. In 2024, Ava lobbied for CRETF's climate education bill in Albany.