As the Virginia Campus Organizer with CCAN, I get to work across Virginia with students who are eager to get involved with climate activism (how lucky am I, right??). For those of you who have been to Virginia- or outside of NOVA at least- you know just how big the state is. With well over two dozen colleges and universities spread across the state, it’s not easy to cover all the ground I’d like to over the course of a year. And although we’re active on fifteen campuses right now, I’m always looking to engage more VA students in our campaigns and support the awesome work they’re doing on their own campuses.
Last night, we were able to break new ground on a campus I’ve been excited to visit since I started at CCAN almost a year ago (I still can’t believe how quickly that time has passed!). Christopher Newport University, in Newport News VA, invited us to join them for a screening of Shored Up, a documentary highlighting sea level rise and climate change in coastal communities. At the screening, dozens of students and community members came to learn about sea level rise on the Eastern Shore and hear from the director himself on what inspired him to make the film.
After the screening and a brief panel discussion, I talked with students and other community members about how coastal Virginia is one of the most at risk regions in the country when it comes to impacts from climate change. I’m so excited to know that students literally all over the state are ready to be the generation of Virginia leaders that really take on climate change and sea level rise.
CNU students will hopefully be joining hundreds of other Virginia students in attending Power Shift 2013, the national youth climate conference, where they’ll gain organizing and leadership skills and come back to their campuses and communities ready to implement what they learned.
If you’re a student and want to come with us to Power Shift, or if you’re not a student but want to help us send Virginia students to be a part of this incredible opportunity, email me at emily@chesapeakeclimate.org !
