Previously Featured High-School Activists Win National Recognition
INDIANAPOLIS—Ethan Bledsoe and Anna Prokopy, West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School students, recently were named two of 47 young people across the nation to win the President’s Environmental Youth Award.
Both started a nonprofit organization, Confront the Climate Crisis, in an effort to encourage young people to become politically involved and literate on climate issues.
The group, which was formed in the fall of 2020, worked with Sen. Ron Alting, R-Tippecanoe, to draft legislation that included a concurrent resolution declaring climate change a problem to be addressed and Senate Bill 255, which would have created the Climate and Environmental Justice Task Force.
CtCC co-executive directors Annabel Prokopy and Ethan Bledsoe hold signs expressing environmental concern. CtCC leaders worked with Sen. Ron Alting to craft Senate Bill 255, which died in the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee.
Photo provided by Confront the Climate Crisis.
“Confront the Climate Crisis is beyond honored to receive this award,†said Prokopy. “For over three years, we have worked passionately as a team to bring climate action and climate education to Indiana, and this recognition for our efforts motivates us to continue pursuing the change that we hope to see.â€
The award was brought about by the Environmental Education Act of 1970 and each of the 10 Environmental Protection Agency regional offices selects a winner.
Bledsoe and Prokopy won in EPA Region 5, which includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
