Activities

By Lane Worthing, Sidwell Friends School Tongass National Forest, located in southeast Alaska, is the largest national forest in the US. As seen in the documentary Understory, it is a beautiful old growth forest made up of western hemlock, sitka spruce, and western red cedar trees, many of which have been storing carbon for hundreds of years– and it is in danger. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the Roadless Rule Act prevented logging in 9 million acres of the forest from 2001-2020, but the Trump administration reversed those limits, opening the Tongass up to destruction. Now, however, the Biden administration is trying to undo that decision. The public comment period on restoring the Roadless Rule Act for the Tongass ends on Monday, Jan. 24, so if you want to help preserv...

By Isabelle Reinecke, Sidwell Friends School, founder of Youth Against Plastic Pollution The plastic pollution crisis affects us all. An issue of environmental racism and capitalism, the crisis contributes to climate change, litters our communities, and harms our health. As awareness around plastic pollution continues to grow, you may be wondering what you can do to help. You can start by using less plastic and spreading awareness, but if you want tools to help with your efforts or go more in depth, you may choose to get involved with an organization working to defeat this crisis. While this is not a comprehensive list, here are some plastic pollution organizations you can get involved with, whoever or wherever you are.  For Younger Activists—Algalita Algalita connects young peopl...