Junior Gracie Belt, one of the co-President’s of Green Action Club (GAC), considers herself an environmental activist.

“I’m one of the founding members of Green Action Club,” Belt said.”We created the club to create a place where students who care about the climate are able to connect and work together.” 

According to Belt, students in the club work on numerous projects to help the environment. 

“At Green Action Club, we work to educate our community and produce local change in our community’s environment,” she said. “We collaborate with local groups and politicians to try and further our goals for the climate. We aim to educate others about the climate emergency and take action to slow the climate crisis.”

Ella Yates, member of GAC and senior, said she agreed with Belt. 

“Green Action Club members join project-based groups within the club, like community outreach or tree planting, which allows them to make a difference in an area of sustainability that interests them,” Yates said. “(We) aim to actively spread awareness and promote change in our community to have a positive impact on the environment. We encourage members to have their voices heard and interact with leaders in the community.” 

Yates said the variety of initiatives taken by GAC allows the club to have an important impact. 

“Because of the different groups within the club, GAC represents many different parts of environmental activism. GAC organizes several events and programs throughout the year like Trick-or-Trash or Lights Drive. This year, I’m proud to say that GAC helped hand out 1,000 tree saplings to members of the community as part of Miles Nelson’s 10,000 Trees in Carmel Campaign,” she said. 

Belt said she was inspired to become an environmental activist after learning about the severity of the climate crisis. 

“I first got interested in issues about the climate in middle school when I learned about how dire the climate crisis truly is. The threat climate change poses on our future really inspired me to be more active in my own community,” she said. 

Yates said she joined for similar reasons. 

“I joined GAC because I’m passionate about the environment and wanted to meet and collaborate with students with similar interests,” she said. “Learning about Greta Thunberg’s global climate movement made me realize that individuals can actually make an impact and inspired me to do my part in fighting climate change.”

Belt said that she has been able to find a community of like minded peers at GAC. 

“I love being able to connect with so many different passionate individuals,” Belt said, “and talk to them about why they care about the climate crisis.”

According to Belt, GAC is making a difference in the community. 

“We make a difference by inspiring others to join our cause and help the earth with us,” Belt said. “Community action is stronger than individual (action) and I think we’re able to be more effective in progressing towards our goals together.” 

For Yates, seeing the real-world impacts of her and her co-members’ work is the most rewarding aspect of being in GAC. 

“My favorite thing about GAC is feeling so rewarded when I can see mine and my peers’ hard work create concrete changes that will have a lasting impact on our world,” she said. “This club is truly great if you want to make a difference and have a fun time doing it.”