The Life of a Youth Climate Strike Organizer

by. Leo Fontneau

Youth organizers Jaden Winn (left) and Ella Shriner (right) approach the Hawthorne Bridge and see the crowd of protestors already well across. They gleefully greeted every friend they walked into.

Portland (OR)—Sept. 20, 2019, Ella Shriner, a senior at Grant High School, stands on the Hawthorne Bridge in a moment of joy, disbelief and awe. Shriner and her fellow organizers did it: the PDX Climate Strike was a success. Jaden Winn, a fellow organizer, looks at the mass of people in front of him and says, “It just keeps going.”

The strike was a success. The event far exceeded the expected 7,000 to 10,000 participants. The everyday lives of youth organizers continue to be on pause as they pressure government officials to take action on climate change.

The dismissal by politicians of young people's voices is unacceptable to youth organizers. Shriner said, “There is a tendency for them to say, 'We love seeing the youth,' but not really taking us seriously.”

Organizers from the Portland Youth Climate Strike Coalition. Top row: Lana, Zavie and Ella. Bottom row: Yena and Aruna.

Shriner and her fellow event coordinators made hard decisions to plan the strike.

“Because of organizing for the strike, I had to sacrifice other things I care about, like running cross country with my team, and spending time with my family.” Even keeping up with school work became a more difficult task for Shriner while working on the strike, but she feels a sense of responsibility to address the climate crisis. “Once I knew about the crisis, and the magnitude of it,” she said, “it is impossible to turn away and not take action.”

The group wants Portland to address the inequity that is a fundamental problem to solving climate change. Shriner hopes that their protest and future efforts will encourage the city to do more in addressing climate change.

“I hope that the city wakes up,” she said.