Watch: Student Wins Climate Change Contest With Powerful Video

SANTA MONICA, CA — A Santa Monica middle school student is sharing why it's time to take action and help climate migrants.

Wildwood School student Ruth Mekuria won first place in the 9th annual “World of 7 Billion” video contest sponsored by Population Connection.

It started as a science project, Ruth told Patch.

“I wanted to talk about climate migrants. I thought this was a good topic that no one really talked about,” Ruth told Patch.

She created the video and competed with more than 5,000 students from 35 countries and 46 U.S. states and territories to win $1,000. Students had to educate viewers about their topic, how it relates to human population growth and include at least one idea for a sustainable solution.

People aren’t taking enough action, Ruth told Patch. That’s what pushed Ruth to create the video message and talk about solutions.

“I thought this is something that should be talked about,” Ruth told Patch. “Like I said in the video, by protesting and voting you can do something about it. It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can still make a difference.”

Ruth is inspired to keep talking about climate change. For Ruth, it feels motivating to see other young leaders like Greta Thunberg addressing the global problem.

“I’m glad that young people are saying what needs to be heard,” Ruth told Patch. “This will have a huge effect on us in the future.”

Watch Ruth’s video here and learn more about the contest.

The contest was organized and promoted during the 2019-20 school year by Population Education, a program of Population Connection. A panel of 41 judges—including college and high-school educators, filmmakers and topic experts—selected the winners. It's expected to be held again in the fall.

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