Climate Change has become a hot topic in recent years with Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old environmental activist creating a campaign called Fridays For Future, urging primarily students to demand their legislators to re-evaluate policies within government institutions. 

On Friday, September 20, students and employees walked out of their schools and places of employment in support of the Thunberg’s campaign. Members of the Winter Springs High School Environmental Activism Club attended the event near City Hall in Orlando.

Hannah Smith (11th), President of the club had this to say when asked why she went to the walk. 

“I attended the climate strike not only to support my club but because I am passionate about making a change in our planet.” 

Several other members, including Smith, were among an estimated 4 million people who participated in the global event. The streets of New York housed around 1.4 million people alone that day. 

Some claim that the hypocrisy that lies in advocating for these issues is that by buying supplies to make posters and driving a car to the event contributes to the problem.

Smith and members of the club took the SunRail to get to the strike and found pieces of cardboard in various dumpsters in the surrounding area to make signs. They also reused paint stirrers to hold the signs. Smith later recycled all of the cardboard used. 

Besides attending the event, the club educates members on living a conscious and sustainable life.

“The Environmental Activism Club was founded on the principles of learning, speaking up, and doing something about current environmental issues. [The club] will be cleaning up areas in our community, learning about sustainability, and truly being activists for issues we care about,” Smith said.

Besides taking part in the Fridays For Future strike, the club holds beach cleanups at Cocoa Beach on the last Sunday of every month. Their first cleanup was during September.

Smith continued, “I want members of the club to take the things [they are] learning into life with them as adults, so we can create a generation of doers.”