On February 18, forty-two students from TerraFuture's youth programs boarded a charter bus to Salem for our third annual Youth Lobby Day. Over the course of six hours, they met with 18 state legislators and their staff, delivered testimony in two committee hearings, and demonstrated that young people are not just the future of climate action. They are its present.
This was not a photo opportunity. Our students arrived with research, data, and specific policy asks. And they left with tangible commitments from three legislators to co-sponsor the Oregon Climate Education Act.
Preparation
Youth Lobby Day begins weeks before anyone sets foot in the Capitol. Students participate in a four-session training program covering legislative process, effective advocacy communication, the specific bills on this year's agenda, and techniques for productive dialogue with elected officials who may hold different views.
Each student prepared a one-page fact sheet combining statewide data with personal experience. We have found that this combination, rigorous data presented alongside lived experience, is the most effective advocacy format regardless of the audience's political orientation.
This year's policy focus was twofold. The primary ask was support for Senate Bill 412, the Oregon Climate Education Act, which would allocate 8.6 million dollars annually to integrate climate science and sustainability education into K-12 curricula. The secondary ask was support for House Bill 278, which would strengthen environmental justice requirements in state agency permitting decisions.
The Case for Climate Education
The students' advocacy for SB 412 was grounded in data they had helped compile through TerraFuture's education programs. A survey of 1,600 Oregon high school students conducted by our youth fellows found that only 38 percent reported receiving any instruction on climate science in the current school year. Among those who did, the average instructional time was 4.2 hours per year, roughly the equivalent of one class period per month.
Oregon's Next Generation Science Standards include climate-related performance expectations, but implementation varies dramatically by district. Schools in the Portland metro area average 7.1 hours of annual climate instruction, while rural districts average 1.8 hours. Sixty-three percent of Oregon science teachers surveyed by the Oregon Education Association reported feeling inadequately prepared to teach climate topics.
SB 412 would fund professional development for 2,400 teachers, develop age-appropriate curriculum materials aligned with Oregon standards, and create a competitive grant program for school-based sustainability projects. The per-student cost is approximately 14 dollars per year.
These students are not asking legislators to believe in climate change. They are presenting data showing that Oregon students lack the scientific literacy to make informed decisions about the defining challenge of their generation, and proposing a specific, costed solution.
Legislative Meetings
The 18 meetings covered a broad ideological spectrum, from strong climate advocates to legislators who have voted against previous environmental legislation. Students reported that the most productive conversations were often with skeptical legislators, who engaged substantively with the data and asked probing questions about program costs and implementation.
Representative Maria Torres, who serves on the House Education Committee, told students that their presentation was among the most data-driven constituent meetings she had experienced in the current session. Senator David Park committed on the spot to co-sponsoring SB 412, bringing the total co-sponsor count to 11.
Committee Testimony
Four students delivered testimony to the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. Each testified for two minutes, which our training emphasized is the standard window for public testimony.
One student presented findings from TerraFuture's environmental justice mapping project, showing that schools in the highest environmental burden census tracts have the lowest rates of climate instruction. Another shared her experience growing up in the Jade District, where air quality index readings regularly exceed 100 during wildfire season, and described how her participation in TerraFuture's monitoring program transformed her understanding of the environmental conditions in her own neighborhood.
What Comes Next
The legislative session continues through June. TerraFuture staff will continue supporting the bills through written testimony, expert witness coordination, and coalition building. Our students have committed to follow-up meetings with each of the 18 offices they visited, maintaining the relationships they established.
Regardless of the bills' outcomes, the process itself is the education. These 42 students now understand how policy is made, how to communicate with decision-makers, and that their voices carry weight. That is an investment in civic capacity that will compound for decades.
