Youth Climate Change Conference

I was recently invited to be a part of a new organization called Covalence Global. This organization aims to empower “covalent bonds” and bring youth conservation leaders together. Covalence Global is entirely youth run by co-founders Lulu Goulet-Hofsass and Sophia Tabibian. They are trying to spread the word about their work to others all over the globe.

In August, I took part in their Youth Climate Change Conference over Zoom. The conference was held over three days. Unfortunately, I had school one of those days, but I still learned a lot and wanted to share my experience.

On the first day I attended, they discussed how to do online climate change protests and make an impact without leaving your home. In this new era of technology, it makes it easier for people who do not have the ability to get together in person, whether because of a disability, social anxiety, or just not having the means to travel. For instance, I do not have car, so I cannot be involved in a protest unless my mom takes me. I also have school and other commitments that can get in the way. Online protests and connections make it much easier to hop online, contribute, and make our voices heard. Social media is a great way to do this. By joining communities and reaching out to others, you can do an online strike about something important to you.

We also learned about coral bleaching. Coral bleaching, a result of warming oceans, is when the coral turns pure white. Just looking at bleached coral, it would appear pretty, the sea all covered in white; however, that’s extremely harmful to the coral. When a coral turns white, it means that it is extremely stressed and starting to die. Just a couple degrees different from their regular temperature can start a mass dying of coral. Climate change is causing a rapid increase of temperature and a rapid increase of dying coral. For example in the early 80s and 90s, the Florida Keys had beautiful reefs all over it. Now, Florida’s reefs are so limited. Coral bleaching has killed over 90% of corals in Florida. Even reefs as big as the Great Barrier Reef have taken a huge hit from coral bleaching. It’s a dire situation and people are working hard to educate others and help find solutions.

Continuing on the theme of coral bleaching, we watched a documentary called “Chasing Coral”. It was a really eye opening movie for me. A diver, who had a particular coral reef he dove in, started to realize in a matter of a few months his coral was bleach white. He worked with a group of scientists and engineers to try and document the drastic changes the corals were experiencing. They did time lapse photos in the same spot over the course of a couple of months. The results were heartbreaking. The beautiful coral with all kinds of elaborate colors turned white and started to die. They shared them with the public to advocate for more to be done to protect these reefs. I highly recommend you watch the documentary if you have spare time.

We also went into breakout rooms where I was able to hear one man’s work in Africa. In his country, he is teaching lessons to children in the community about climate change. He demonstrated how he would plant trees with the children and educate them about the importance of trees. One thing he said that really resonated with me was the impact children had on their parents. He said by educating the children, the parents learned the importance of their actions as well.

There was even some time for a little fun. At one point, we played a Kahoot game based on facts about climate change. I got second place, so I was very proud of myself. Those questions were difficult! Who knew that climate change could be such a diverse topic?!

All in all, I really enjoyed the conference. It helped me meet a diverse group of young people who care about climate change. It was crazy to me that I was on calls with people from California and different countries like Ghana! I can’t wait to see what Covalence Global does next. If you have a passion for conservation and climate change work, I highly suggest you visit their website and join their community forum to learn more about new and upcoming projects. You, too, can be a part of the amazing work they do!