A demonstration can be as simple as one student with a sign (think of Greta!) or something that takes a lot of planning and involves many students. Choose ideas for this September and future events based on how much time you have to plan. ALL demonstrations are valuable no matter how many participate! Remember, human rights advocacy starts with the person next to you.
Demonstrations you can plan in as little as 24 hours: These demonstration ideas can be planned individually or as a group, and likely don’t need permission from teachers or school administrators to host.
- Share your climate story on social media or in one-on-one conversations
- Host a conversation with teachers, friends, fellow-students
- Share Global Climate Strike advocacy information at Club Rush (depending on timing)
- Climate trivia during chapter meeting (STF members share questions and discuss)
- Use this Clean Energy Quiz or this Climate Change Quiz
- QR code to your campus’ petition or climate change facts to pass out at lunch
- Chalk climate phrases and facts on sidewalks around campus (verify with your teacher advisor if you need permission to do this on campus!)
- Schoology/Google Classroom posts about the climate crisis
- Post a video on Instagram, Snapchat, etc.; ask friends to share
Demonstrations you can plan in one week: These demonstrations will likely need multiple participants AND permission from teachers or school administrators to host.
- Everyone wear the same color on the same day to raise awareness
- Do a climate change pledge at lunch and ask students to sign your campus’ petition
- Interactive climate tent at lunch. Include a take-action element, such as signing petitions or making a climate pledge.
- Climate trivia event during lunch (All STF members share questions, start conversations)
- Ask teachers to promote your advocacy/demonstration in their classes (STF students present OR give information for teacher to share; could be part of a lesson on environmental justice)
- Present about our campaign to transition schools to 100% renewable energy at Town Hall/Assembly/All-school meeting
- Give homeroom/advisory presentations on:
- Your plans for the Global Climate Strike and how others can participate
- The climate crisis (such as the “Three Seconds” PSA video)
- Advertise through ASB
- Make an announcement to the whole school
- Place flyers, posters, QR code (linking to your campus’ petition, your STF chapter meeting information, or climate fast facts) around campus (bulletin boards, etc.)
- Connect with allies on campus (other clubs, committees, parents groups, etc.)
- Send a community-wide email (to students and parents), mailer, and/or post on the school website
- Create social media posts asking your community to sign your campus’ petition (Nextdoor, Instagram, Facebook, etc.)
- Place petition QR codes in neighborhood mailboxes/light posts
- Write an op-ed piece for the school or local newspaper
Demonstrations that need extensive time to plan: These demonstrations will need a large number of participants AND permission from teachers or school administrators to host.
- Host a teach-in at lunch/after school with underclassmen
- Present at faculty meetings
- Ask teachers to incorporate climate change in curriculum (the STF team can provide lesson plans and resources)
- Ask teachers to offer extra credit to collect a certain number of petition signatures or to do research on the climate crisis
- Plan a blackout day where all teachers turn off lights for the day to raise awareness about the climate crisis
- Choose a block of time for all teachers to turn off fans and/or AC to raise awareness about the climate crisis
- Present about our campaign to transition schools to 100% renewable energy at Town Hall/Assembly/All-school meeting
- Partner with other clubs on campus to do a teach-in or die-in
- Set up outdoor display where people can see, hear, and walk past
- Climate Tent Exhibit
- Art Exhibit (collect single use plastic thrown away on campus and turn it into an art installation; create a mural, etc.)
- Everyone wear our future “Oceans are rising, so are we!” STF t-shirts
- Plan a climate walkout for the last 1.5 minutes before bell to represent 1.5 degree warming that will occur within 20 years
- Three-day build-up of advocacy:
- Day 1 share climate fast facts
- Day 2 your chapter’s petition drive (for every 5 people you get to sign the petition, you get a raffle ticket to win school swag/prize)
- Day 3 raffle announcement and walkout or die-in
- Organize Clean Energy Task Force on campus (if interested, ask an STF team member)
- Start a school podcast to educate on the climate crisis
- Decrease food & plastic waste on campus
