In late January we traveled to Olympia with six high school students from Friday Harbor High and Spring Street International Schools to participate in the 2019 Environmental Priorities Coalition’s lobby day. We joined 500 other Washington State citizens and environmental groups to promote a transition to 100% clean electricity, orca emergency response, oil spill prevention, and reducing plastic pollution.
“Going to Olympia to see our government in action was really informative and inspiring,” said Ayla Ridwan, sophomore at Friday Harbor High School.
During lobby day, we met with our 40th district representatives Debra Lekanoff and Jeff Morris. We discussed our support for electrifying state ferries, addressing climate change, protecting Southern Resident orcas and reducing plastic pollution in the Salish Sea.
“We want to see policies passed this year that restore shoreline habitats, ban single-use plastic bags state-wide, and implement a clean energy plan in our state,” said Raylee Miniken, sophomore at Friday Harbor High School.
We were incredibly proud of the students during our time at the state capitol. They were very effective at speaking up for the Salish Sea with our state leaders. We know they made an impact and will help move some of the important environmental legislation forward.
