“Our Climate, Our Action” is the official launch of an annual community event celebrating and engaging the frontline communities in DC, led by Our Climate, a youth-based climate justice organization. This event will take place on Earth Day, April 22, 2023, at The Village in Union Market, a Black-owned café and lab in the local community with a designated event space. During this day of celebration, attendees will explore art created by local high school students, take part in letter writing to elected officials, work with a horticulture therapist to plant seeds and discuss the reclamation of land, and attend a dynamic panel on climate justice. The goals of the event are to foster communal relationships between frontline communities of DC and those who work in climate justice, and to provide fun and engaging ways for locals to advocate for themselves. Through the letter writing workshop and the panel discussion on climate justice and grassroots advocacy, we believe the voices of the community will leave feeling empowered. In addition to the gallery and workshops, local vendors and restaurants will be represented, as we aim to highlight and promote the small businesses of DC neighborhoods.
Going forward, we want to build upon Our Climate, Our Action in the coming years to develop an even further reach with more community engagement, bigger and bolder youth art installments, and tangible legislative outcomes for the local frontline communities of DC. In the future, Our Climate will conduct outreach to more schools, specifically in Wards 7 & 8, provide transportation for the day of the event to community members all over DC, and collaborate with more DC businesses, vendors, artists, and organizations with aligned missions and goals! Overall, we desire to create lasting and genuine communal relationships where climate justice advocacy is built from the ground up in an equity-centered and community-led way.