harlow leisure, 8

Hi! My name is Harlow. I am 8 years old and in fourth grade. Today I would like to tell you a story about a climate change rally I attended. I heard about the rally because my mom told me about it. She gave me the choice to go or not and I said for sure.

I went to the rally with my dad and both of my little brothers. The rally was held at Northern Michigan University. There was a medium amount of people there. There were two surprising things that happened: First, when they were talking, a student came out yelling because we were being too loud and they were trying to study. Secondly, one of the students asked an official why NMU doesn’t compost and the official said they can’t and I’m still wondering about that.

There were actually a lot of students participating in the rally. They didn’t actually show up for their classes because protesting was more important to them. The person leading the rally chanted things about saving the Earth. I brought a sign made of birch bark and charcoal dust. I had found a big piece of birch bark on the ground and took it back to my backyard. That night we had a bonfire and I took some of the burnt wood and used it to write on the birch bark. I wrote, “Save the earth.”

We try to do our part at home. We compost all of our leftovers. You should, too! It is easy. Just make a pile of leftovers and it will, over time, turn into dirt. In the spring we plant a garden. This year we planted corn, beans, peas, squash, clovers and potatoes (the potatoes were REALLY good). We like reusing. We get a lot of our things from thrift shops and garage sales. There is a recycling program for Michigan and we drop off our recycling. Bill Nye the Science Guy said that gas leaf blowers are somewhere at the top of the list for pollution. Leaving your leaves on the ground is actually really good for the soil. They break down and make the soil richer for the spring grass.

It’s very important we do these things because global warming is just going to get bigger and bigger and continue. I actually read that the icebergs are melting and as they melt they release gases and it makes them melt faster and increases the greenhouse gases.

I would go to another rally. If there is another one to go to, I’m going to it. If I was allowed to, I would make a speech about saving the Earth. I would say that time is running out and I would also talk about ideas families can do, like recycle and compost, that make a difference.

Rallies are not just for adults. Anyone can participate. There is no age limit. All you really have to do is bring a sign or not even … all you really need to do is show up with is a desire to want to help.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Fourth-grader Harlow Leisure enjoys reading, writing and science.