On Friday, September 20, 2019, Packer students — and several faculty members — met students from other Brooklyn schools at Borough Hall to travel as a group to lower Manhattan for the New York City Climate Strike. The protest was part of a global movement in more than 150 countries to demand urgent action on climate change. Sophie A. ’21 was one of the 10 core committee organizers of the New York City event. 

In a letter to Packer parents, Sophie, Olivia F. ’20, Anna S. ’20, and Alex H. ’20, leaders of Packer's Earth Club, explained why students feel so strongly about this issue and about participating in the event. 

We are currently living through the sixth mass extinction. Extinction of species, global warming, loss of biodiversity, extreme weather patterns, mass migration, and drought are just a few of the disastrous effects of human-caused climate change. Climate change is a social justice issue, an economic issue, an environmental issue, and a global issue and, thus, encapsulates everything that we learn inside the classroom. As high school students, all the repercussions of this climate crisis pose a threat to our future. 

... The voice that we have as youth is distinctive: it’s raw and alarmed. This movement is the reason why countries around the world are declaring climate emergencies, why leaders are coming together for the UN Climate Summit, and why climate change is now the most discussed issue of our time. With this in mind, engaged student participation is more important now than ever.

On campus the same day, some Lower School classes held their own climate change marches, parading through the hallways and Garden and visiting classrooms around the school. Others engaged in climate-change related discussions or activities.