‘My life, my future, my community:’ Boulder Valley students on taking climate action

Anxiety about climate change is hitting the youngest of us hard. And if you’re too young to vote, it may feel like there’s nothing you can do to change what your future looks like. But students in the Boulder Valley School District proved otherwise this past school year. A group of high school students successfully campaigned for the school board to adopt the Green New Deal for Schools resolution - a policy demanded by the Sunrise Movement. The youth-led climate activism organization held a summer camp in 2023 that helped inspire two Fairview high school students to advocate for the resolution. Twins Emma and Molly Weber said they felt empowered by coming together with peers from across the nation and learning how to take a stand.“We have our whole lives in front of us,” said Emma Weber. “But a lot of times the things that we want to do in our dreams are being destroyed by this issue that is devastating so many different aspects of our lives.”After eight months of campaigning, Boulder Valley became the first school district in the nation to adopt the climate resolution. In the NoCo’s Erin O’Toole spoke with both Molly and Emma Weber about what the experience was like.If this conversation was of interest to you, check out this interview with youth activist, Madhvi Chittoor. She advocated for a statewide ban on styrofoam takeout containers that became law in 2024. .