City High students have been awarded the Environmental Advocates of the Year by Little Village Magazine. Starting at South East Junior High, Massimo Biggers ‘23, Ian Martinez ‘23, and Alex Howe ‘23 have been striking since early 2019.

“It’s changed a lot. We came from standing outside of school in the freezing temperatures and getting unexcused absences to every Friday protesting in the morning at the coal plant,” Martinez said.

The protests have gained attention from the community and even on national and international levels. On October 4th, Greta Thunberg joined the Iowa City Climate Strikers in downtown Iowa City. Over 3,000 people came to hear her talk.

“I am really grateful that [Greta Thunberg] came to Iowa City. I am honestly a bit surprised that it happened. It really helped us raise awareness for our strikes,” Martinez said.

Little Village gave Environmental Advocates of the Year to Iowa City Student Advocates on December 4th releasing the results over their website.

“I feel special but also really adult,” Biggers said, “This is something we should have done a while back,”

The effects of their protests were acknowledged by the University of Iowa when they declared a “climate crisis” on Iowa City.