I am a 12^th grader at Truckee High School and a member of the Tahoe Youth Action Team (TYAT), a group of students who work together on environmental advocacy. TYAT is a youth group of Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), an international climate advocacy group. Recently, we have been working on advocating for policies and goals that would make our Tahoe Truckee Unified School District more sustainable, such as a move towards increased electrification and decreased carbon emissions. I have spoken before the school board several times on those issues, alongside other members of our team. Doing so sparked a larger interest in me for combating climate change through legislation. In early June, I had the incredible opportunity to pursue this interest by traveling to Washinton D.C. to attend the International CCL Conference and meet with members of Congress.  

I went to the conference with my chaperone Deirdre Henderson, mentor of the TYAT and leader of the North Tahoe CCL Chapter, who has a lot of experience with climate advocacy. There were over one thousand attendees that came from all around the nation. Of those, there were almost two hundred other students, all passionate about making change. While talking to them, I heard about some awesome efforts such as bringing native landscaping and sustainable policies to school campuses. My two roommates, from Georgia and Oregon, were enthusiastic about climate solutions, and we had some great discussions together with a larger group of students. We had conversations that started during the conference and continued to dinner and ice cream hang outs afterwards and, overall, had a very fun time. 

Taking advantage of the location, we went to the Washington Monument to have discussions with people about their feelings on climate change. It was incredibly nerve racking to do so, but partnering up with one of my roommates made it considerably less so. We found a wide range of people, from all regions of the world, all with differing viewpoints which were very interesting to hear. In addition, I was able to take a tour of the Capitol building and view a Senate session in person. It was very cool to see our government at work, and definitely better than seeing a session through C-Span. 

---

---

During the conference, there were several speaker sessions filled with stories of past experiences advocating for the environment, advice on communicating with Congress members, and discussions on climate policies. We heard from a variety of interesting speakers such as Jerome Foster II, a young White House advisor and former congressional staffer, and Ben Stillerman, who made the climate change documentary series “True False Hot Cold.” It was nice to hear Jerome Foster say that he saw grassroot groups, composed of ordinary community members, having the most impact on changing Congress members’ minds. It was also very interesting to hear Ben Stillerman speak about his experiences interviewing people in rural Utah, and the different ways they saw and experienced climate change.  

The conclusion of the conference was Lobby Day, when everyone met with numerous Congress members to ask for their support on bi-partisan climate-positive policies and discuss relevant legislation. That morning, everyone gathered for a group photo on the steps of the Capitol building, filling them entirely! 

---

---

 I was nervous about my meetings, but it was inspiring to see everyone together in their lobby teams, working towards the same goals and ready to go. Deirdre and I had an in-person meeting with our CA-3 Representative Kevin Kiley and meetings with Senator Padilla’s staff and Representative Barragán’s legislative director. Each meeting I felt more prepared than the last, and they all ended up going quite well. A challenge presented itself though, when our meeting with Representative Kiley was going well and expanded past the time we expected, forcing us to rush over to Representative Barragán’s office to make it on time. Luckily, we were able to get there quickly enough and were ready when they invited us in. 

The trip was inspiring and a great reminder of the ability of everyday people to make an impact, especially when they work together. I was blown away by the ability of CCL to schedule over four hundred meetings with Congress members on Lobby Day and definitely think that attending was an invaluable experience. I plan to use what I learned in Washington to better advocate for the climate and other environmental causes. 

Lillian Schnick is a rising senior at Truckee High School and a member of the Tahoe Youth Action Team. She spends her time hanging out with friends, snowboarding, and playing with her four dogs.