Students Still Active in Face of Shutdowns
In April, 2020 Hannah Wyman, a student at California University of Pennsylvania, wrote this post after interviewing Katie Modic, Executive Director of Communitopia.
Webinars, social media and zoom meetings. Students in Pennsylvania are finding new ways to fight against climate change amidst school shutdowns. On April 9, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that all Pennsylvania schools shall remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. This order came as an effort to protect the health and safety of students and their communities from the spread of COVID-19, a potentially serious respiratory disease. Despite these changes, youth activists are still working diligently to combat climate change and spread awareness.
Katie Modic, executive director of Communitopia, a Pittsburgh-based environmental action group, said a youth group that she runs for high school and college-aged students, Pittsburgh Youth for Climate Action, had planned a variety of activities for this spring. From tabling for Earth Day to a youth climate ride fundraiser, these spring activities were events “the kids dreamt up and were motivated to take part in,” said Modic. Yet, many of these events have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All of that is shifted and we’re all online,” said Modic. “We’re still grappling with ‘How do we make this adjustment?’”
As students look for new ways to spread climate change awareness, many are turning to social media. One activity the Pittsburgh Youth for Climate Action has planned during quarantine is creating and designing face masks with the Pittsburgh Youth for Climate Action logo. Members are also creating banners and other art projects that will all be shared online for others to see.
“Everyone is just doing it on their own time and then we’re posting it on social media so everyone can see it at the end and there’s just a little bit of momentum behind the group,” said Modic. “People who might be interested in the group can see what we’re doing.”
Woodland Hills students also demonstrate their ability to adapt while in quarantine through online communication and webinars. Following a Communitopia climate change workshop that sparked student action, Woodland Hills School District of Allegheny County historically became the first in the state to pass a climate action resolution. According to Resolution 540.91, changes will be made in the curriculum to include climate literacy and advocacy, climate-friendly foodservice and engagement with local, state and federal jurisdictions on climate policies.
On April 16, Woodland Hills ninth-grade students, who are also members of their school's climate action team, hosted a webinar via Zoom, a video conferencing service. This webinar aimed to highlight the success of the passing of their school district’s climate action resolution and to raise awareness about climate change.
Dove Hughey, Levi McGraw-Sapp and Tierra Bush presented on the impact greenhouse gases, global temperature and carbon dioxide have on earth’s climate and why it matters. Through graphs and images, these three Woodland Hill freshmen were able to present their work on the eco-friendly initiatives happening at Woodland Hills.
“Our hope was that if [the school board] passed such a resolution, the school leaders who are responsible for implementing the policy would declare climate change to be a children’s issue and dedicate themselves to enacting eco-friendly policies moving forward on behalf of all kids and future generations,” said McGraw-Saap during the webinar.
Like Woodland Hills students and the Pittsburgh Youth for Climate Action, members of the Erie County Student Coalition continue to strive to make a difference despite some setbacks. Based in Erie County, ECSC is “an organization formed by students for students to tackle issues that students face on a daily basis,” according to their Facebook Page.
President of ECSC and senior at North East High School Lauren Seliga, 18, said that the group is passionate about climate change and sustainability. Due to school shutdowns, Seliga said ECSC is “taking a little bit of break right now.”
“But we are collaborating with other Erie organizations to figure out something to do for Earth Day and to talk to elected officials about climate legislation and initiatives,” Seliga said.
To coordinate with one another, members have been using GroupMe, a mobile group messaging app while meetings with other organizations hrough Zoom. Seliga said she thinks that everyone prefers to organize in-person at meetings. However, “now that everything is canceled, more members are actually able to participate in discussions since their other activities don’t conflict anymore.”
“Also, we’ve all had more time to just get to know each other and connect on a friendship level, which makes organizing together even more enjoyable and productive,” Seliga said.
