Auvert Society Findings 2023 | The Auvert Magazine

3 Best Auvert Society Findings

In this article, we've curated the three best findings (not in a particular order) from a select few esteemed members of the Auvert Society. The Auvert Society is a group of students dedicated to advocating for our planet through the written word. Members curate and contribute literary pieces—poems, stories, essays, and articles—focusing on climate change, among other global issues, and related topics. Responsibilities include writing, editing, conducting research, and interviewing local individuals, activists, and organizations to amplify their insights and initiatives within our platform. You can fill this google form to apply.

Grace Stoddard is a junior in the Austin Texas area. She participates in debate, tennis, and orchestra and aspires to pursue studies of social sciences in the future. After learning about the global challenges around carbon emissions and environmental sustainability, she was inspired to conduct research on issues relating to climate change.

In late October, Grace interviewed five classmates, asking them the same opening question: "What do you know about climate change?"

Her first interviewee, Nha, acknowledged climate change as an important issue to address. She stated, "I know that climate change is a prevalent problem nowadays and it it impacts everyone worldwide, and not just a specific place, so we all have a responsibility towards this event." Megan, Grace's second interviewee, shares her recognition and knowledge as well: "I know that climate change is the gradual heating up of the earth from greenhouse gasses. I know how it is caused, I know that humans are a big factor in why it is happening and why the risk is increasing. I know there is a plan to eliminate carbon emissions from us by a certain year to help, um, kind of mellow down the impact of climate change." Brandon admits to knowing much less, explaining that he does not "know much about climate change. [He] do[es]n't know much about work and how the world interacts with it." And Rachel simply answers the truth, "It's happening."

All of these students attend the same high school, yet their levels of awareness differ from one another. Grace then interrogated whether climate change was implemented in their academic curriculums. All agreed that unless one takes AP environmental science, global warming is not communicated. Mackenzie observed, "climate change and sustainable activities aren’t really mentioned in high school right now. They were briefly mentioned in middle school and elementary school, but that's about it."

It impacts everyone worldwide, and not just a specific place, so we all have a responsibility towards this event.

When asked if she knew of other classes aside from environmental science that address climate change, Nha shares that to her knowledge, she does not "think there is, and . . . there’s [not] much of an awareness at [her] school particularly. There’s this one poster that sells plastic bottles— like plastic water bottles, and [she doesn't] think that’s very environmentally aware." Other interviewees of Grace spoke similarly as well. Megan shares, "there are sometimes promotions like maybe there’s a poster here and there, but its hardly ever mentioned outside of the class, and there haven't been any sustainable activities as far as I know." According to Megan, these posters are put up by the school and not the students. She also talks to Grace about clothing drives and charity events, explaining that "they were student-led, but they were to raise awareness and raise money for other issues apart from climate change."

Thank you for your thoughtful interview, Grace!

Across the world from Grace in Manchester, England lives Maariya Uddin. From a young age, she has always found comfort in foreign languages and science, but particularly in creative writing. "It seemed to be the only thing I was good at for a long time," she shares. Although she never thought she would be able to get anywhere with it, this all changed for Maariya after taking a chance and submitting one of her pieces to The Auvert Magazine. Since then, she has continued to learn more about creative writing opportunities, especially when integrating activism into her newer pieces.

Maariya created a survey with responses from various high school students in England, aged anywhere from 11-16.

She first asked the following question: "How often is supporting the environment mentioned or taken action towards in your school community?"

Half responded "rarely," and the other half "occasionally." Not one individual selected "regularly" or "always."

Then, she asked: "Are there any activities that a student/teacher should participate in to better the environment in your school community?"

60% percent of surveyors responded that yes, there are, while 40% chose "no." Those who said "yes" shared how they wished their school would encourage recycling and discuss climate change during assemblies. "It takes more than one person to solve this problem," one wrote. "School, show us ways to fix and help."

When asked "do you feel as though your school prioritizes the environment generally," a (not so) shocking 90% of responses claimed that the school did not.

Show us ways to fix and help.

Thank you for your great survey, Maariya!

Meet Joy Jin, a young creative from Wuhan, China, though she has lived in California for 5 years. She is fluent in Mandarin and English but also learning Mexican Spanish. Joy has always loved reading and writing. As of now, she has works either forthcoming or already published in Skipping Stones Magazine, Scfaikuest, the new Drabbun Anthology (Hiraeth Books), Cold Moon Journal, Triya, Star*Line, and more. She is currently 13 years old and attending an international school in Mexico City. In her free time, she likes to curl up and read a good book (however, she doesn’t quite like rereading).

Joy's school is quite different than both Grace's and Maariya's when it comes to environmental awareness. When she sent out a form asking this following question, here were the results:

. . . an overwhelming number of "yes." However, how often was this? Joy asked that as well.

So What?

As you can tell, environmental awareness varies widely among different schools due to factors like location, resources, and educational focus. Some schools are really proactive about teaching sustainability and integrating eco-friendly practices into daily life, while others might not prioritize it as much. To make sure every school is on the same page, we need to standardize environmental education across the board. This means making topics like climate change and conservation a regular part of the curriculum and giving teachers the tools and training they need to teach them effectively. It also means encouraging schools to start eco-clubs, host green events, and work with their communities to spread awareness. By giving every student a solid understanding of environmental issues, we can create a future generation that's ready to tackle the challenges facing our planet.

Again, thank you to Grace, Maariya, and Joy!