Youth Environmental Projects
By: Ariana Thornton ‘24
On Jan. 4 this year, our Managing Editor Alia Bonnano ’23 messaged the writers’ group chat for The Exonian about a writing opportunity separate from the newspaper: Ecosystemic, a growing online environmental publication run through a group called Student Environmentalism and Sustainability Network (SEASN). “If any of you have written climate/sustainability-related pieces— whether op-ed or other sections —and would like to be published here, or if you would like to write something new, reach out to me!” Alia texted.
I was immediately intrigued. Months later, I’m a consistent contributing writer and artist for Ecosystemic: A SEASN Publication. You can browse the site at https://seasn-ecosystemic.org.
SEASN, created at Friends Select School in Pennsylvania, has members from tens of schools in a variety of locations, from Budapest, Hungary to Houston, Texas. Through regular meetings and programming, its core mission is to implement and push for environmental action by fostering a collaborative and passionate coalition of students. Ecosystemic is one of their largest projects yet: it has amassed dozens of active student contributors who submit pieces from poetry to op-eds and features exclusive interviews with figures such as Harvard professor Daniel Shrag, who also happened to be Exeter’s keynote speaker for Climate Action Day.
This statement from SEASN Founder Corey Booker is powerfully and beautifully true: “We recognized that without writing and art, a movement cannot be successful.” Activism and art are historically connected, from Women’s Suffrage to the Civil Rights Movement. Today, we spread and empower ideas through flags, posters, banners, cartoons, music, film, and photography.
No matter how urgent a message such as a climate crisis is, it cannot gain traction without art, without literature, without viral visual media. And in a time when the American mainstream media’s coverage of climate change is inadequate, inconsistent, or even completely false, young people finding and owning an online platform to spread their own voices is necessary and admirable. Until recently, climate silence was the norm on television; natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes would be reported using terms such as “historic,” “unprecedented,” and “record-shattering”— but not “linked to climate change.” Perhaps the proliferation of youth networks like Ecosystemic, propelling the involvement of hundreds of youth in nationwide environmental efforts, holds the power to shift the dialogue on climate change. With a change in dialogue comes a change in the narrative, and therefore, a shift in mindset. To join this effort, find Ecosystemic on Instagram at @ecosystemicmag.
At Exeter, there have already been various environmental projects led by student groups– now, there is a burgeoning online publication. The Ocean Link, found online at https://www.theoceanlink.com, is a collaborative digital collage project started by Ocean Awareness and Action Club to raise marine awareness and passion. An artistic scroll-down gallery displays original quotes and photographs submitted by high school students.
“Will we single-handedly change the world?” Corey Booker writes. “Of course not! But with every peer we support, every person we inspire, and every student we encourage, we come one step closer.”
