Earlier this month, members of the THHS Green Team attended the “Youth Day of Action” in Albany. The event was run by TREEage, an organization dedicated to fighting for climate justice. Throughout the day, students were able to meet with and hear from a variety of state legislators and community speakers to advocate for climate action.

This year, all students who participated in the TREEage event focused on advocating for two main things: passing the Solar on Schools Act in New York and ensuring that the Fund Climate Campaign is given priority in the 2025-2026 budget allocation for NYC public schools. The Solar on Schools Act, currently enacted in Pennsylvania, promises to install solar and geothermal power sources in public schools.

Sophomore Zaria Ilano, who attended the trip, shared more specifics regarding the Solar on Schools act. She said, “It’s a bill that would allocate about 500 million dollars to public schools throughout America, so they can use it to address climate change issues. With the money, they can install solar panels for electricity, instead of using nonrenewable resources like coal and oil.”

Co-president of Green Team and senior Ayoub Ayoub, shared what went into the preparation of this trip. He said that the annual trip is actually “..really easy to organize” due to the fact that “TREEage provides coach buses for transportation, food, and backup chaperones to supervise [everyone attending the trip]. The entire trip is planned and provided by them, not to mention it’s free of cost.”

Treasurer of Green Team and sophomore Mahir Fuad discussed the responsibilities he took on in organizing the trip. “I took on the role of introducing and coordinating the event,” he said. “I helped out to ensure that everyone who wanted to go on the trip had the required documents filled out and knew where to go.”

Mahir added that this year, because the trip was introduced multiple weeks in advance, there was a significant jump in the number of students who attended the trip compared to last year. “We were glad to have 20 people come on the trip, most being freshmen, which was a huge improvement from the 12 people we had last year,” he said.

Many students who attended the trip discussed their motivations for taking part in the all day-long event. 

Freshman Kayla Ng said, “I was interested in [the trip] because I knew it would be a new, fun experience for me since I’ve never rallied before.”

Junior Jazlyn Febles shared a similar incentive. She said, “I was immediately interested in going, I saw how we would be advocating for causes I believe in, such as green gardens and solar panels on our roofs. I feel like I made a wonderful decision.”

“Standing on those steps [in the state capitol building] and cheering with the 600 other students really made me feel like I was a part of something bigger,” shared Elias Cruz.

Junior Thaseena Anjum explained ways in which she was able to take a more active role in voicing her concerns to her community, such as being allowed to share personal anecdotes. She said, “[All of the advocates] split into multiple different groups during the actual summit and my group went into what is known as the war room, right outside of Governor Hochul’s office. In that room, we all shared our personal stories about how climate change affects us and our communities, and I even got to lead a chant with the executive director of TREEage.”

Additionally, Elias noted the importance of participating in events that bring attention to the worldwide issue that is climate change: “[The trip as well as the things we were advocating for] could really relate to anyone because everyone is feeling the effects of climate change, especially in the immediate future,” he said.

“One reason I love the Albany trip is not just because it allows us to rally and protest at the State Capitol, but also because it allows students to speak to legislators and senators, some of whom are the key deciding factors to pass a lot of these bills,” said Ayoub.

As Zaria said, “It’s important for us to use our voices to advocate for things like [climate change] because ultimately we will inherit the Earth, and we will be living in the future that we create now. [Because of this] it is not only in our best interest [to take care of the Earth], but it is also our duty.”