Flames growing. Ice melting. Change coming. Senior Isabella Reed attended the Sept. 20 Climate Strike, which influenced her to start a Climate Strike club and inspire others to fight for change.

“The climate strike was amazing. We marched down the street chanting things like ‘What do we want? CLIMATE JUSTICE! When do we want it? NOW!’ We even marched past the Peabody building (they’re a huge coal producer in St. Louis) and yelled ‘Peabody has got to go!’ Overall, it just felt really powerful,” Reed said.

Reed’s experience at the strike taught her that she has the power to make a change in the Howell community and much beyond that. The Climate Strike led Reed to share the power of one’s voice and that no one should be ashamed to take action in a problem that could impact the future of civilization. 

“I learned that I can have an actual impact. Responding to the climate strikes, Amazon pledged to be emissions-free by 2030. It just felt really cool to have been part of something that caused actual change like that, you know?” Reed said. 

Climate activists such as Greta Thunberg, Isra Hirsi, and Autumn Peltier served as inspirations for Reed as she found a passion for tackling climate change.

“They have inspired me to actually take action and realize how pressing and worldly the issue actually is ,” Reed said. 

Reed began the Climate Strike Club upon her return.

“We have a lot of people here who care about action on climate change, and with activism, it’s like the more the merrier. I think the club will definitely raise awareness and support within our school. A lot of people care about the issue but are nervous to participate in any actual activism around climate change. I think having this club will empower those people to use their voices to enact change,” Reed said.

Reed has many ideas towards progressing in the fight for change. 

“I think starting clubs like this and engaging in more environmentally friendly practices like using reusables in school lunches to lower the school’s environmental footprint could definitely bring climate change to the forefront of our school’s attention,” Reed said. 

“In my opinion, vast changes in economy, culture, and politics have to be enacted. Climate justice now,” Reed said.