To Paris, with bravery: Green School at COP21

Paris is as beautiful as ever. It’s really amazing to come and support these kids. They were the only kids speaking because they were the only kids who made it here. Many of the other kids were held back because of safety concerns. The Bye Bye Plastic Bags team spoke to over 800 people at one event. I’m really proud of these kids; it’s no time to be afraid. If things that happen make you afraid, then there is no future for the world. It’s time to be brave, and smart. And represent the things that are important to you.

-JH

The Green School recently headed to Paris for the biggest climate change talks ever held- the COP 21. The Green Generation and the Bye Bye Plastic Bags team spoke at several events and took their messages straight to the heart of the talks.

More from a Green School teacher, Sarita Pockell, who accompanied them to Paris:

When Green School Green Generation, our High School activists, decided that they had to come to Paris be a part of the COP21 and the COY11, it was not yet clear how important the Arts would be in their journey.  When the prestigious Sustainable Solutions Forum invited Noble Material to perform at their event (the largest side event of the COP21), GS Green Generation jumped at the chance to use the musical as a platform to bring their important solutionary initiatives to the spotlight.  We edited up a 15 minute mobile version of the musical entitled “The Noble Material Roadshow”. It would begin with the tale of plastic, but hold space to include other issues that the students wanted to voice in Paris, such as Indonesian deforestation for palm oil production and inspiring community projects like the Bio Bus.   Parents and teachers  designed incredible costumes for our activists out of our community’s plastic rubbish.  These costumes ended up being a crucial element in our students’ activism.  Before their performance at the COY11, the group drew attention to themselves by walking around the conference dressed in their plastic couture.  This facilitated the gathering of over 800 audience members, many of them youth from around the world, to see their Bye Bye Plastic Bag presentation and their performance.  They received a standing ovation, inspiring their peers with their art and message.

Students and teachers blogged daily on the Green School High School blog, Tulisan. Head over there for more stories, videos and photos.