Princeton Student Activist Calls For Virtual Climate Strike

PRINCETON NJ — Princeton High school student Harmonie Ramsden loves reading historic fiction and enjoys watching teen romcoms from the early 2000s.

But the one thing she’s most passionate about is climate advocacy.

Ramsden is currently hosting the Princeton Youth Climate Week, which concludes March 21. And as part of the festival, she is calling for a virtual climate strike on Friday, 11:20 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.

“With regards to the strike, something that I'm really hoping for, for instance, is that Princeton University divest from fossil fuels,” said Ramsden.

“A lot of universities have done it. And Princeton being a University that's stood for progressive movements and climate change, still hasn't. It's very telling of the performative activism that Princeton may be promoting,” she said.

Events from Princeton Youth Climate Week will be hosted on Zoom and through social media.

Last year, Ramsden participated in the worldwide Project Green Challenge. She was among the finalists and was tasked with developing a project to mitigate the effects of climate change.

“My first plan was to host a climate fair,” she said. “For the past eight months, I've been working on this current project.”

Ramsden said she received support from GripTape – an organization that offers youth the opportunity to pursue projects they are passionate about.

“My real purpose with this project was to find small ways for individuals to engage in climate activism throughout their lives,” she said.

“It could be through Meatless Mondays or learning about the effects of fast fashion on our environment.”

In her current project, Ramsden was supported by James Smirk, an AP Environmental Science teacher at Princeton High School, PGC ambassador Aurora Yuan, mentors Ken Kurtzig and Meredith Soden, and a team of 10 students.

(Ramsden and her sister participating in the 'Save Davidson' protest. Pic: Harmonie Ramsden)

The teen's foray into climate activism began as a seventh grader, when she lived in Davidson, North Carolina with her family.

A small pond and forest area near her home was marked for development projects by the mayor, which would not only destroy the natural habitat, but would also disproportionately affect a low income community living nearby.

“My sister and I were upset. We would play in the forest for a lot of my childhood,” said Ramsden. The sisters then joined a group called ‘Save Davidson.’ They attended protests, rallies and even town hall meetings.

“We were able to save that pond from being built into a hotel,” she said.

“That launched me into climate activism, because it taught me that there is a lot more than just electoral politics to care about. And that people can really take direct action with climate change and make a difference.”

Her climate advocacy continued as her family moved to Princeton.

Through her work, Ramsden said she wants to “start discussions without being preachy.”

The 10-day climate festival is free and virtual, with a few in-person programs scheduled. Activities include discussing climate change, waste collection, movie screenings, vegan pie competitions and more.

One of the biggest challenge Ramsden faces now is reaching out to more young people, due to the pandemic.

“It's definitely been difficult to reach out to people during virtual learning, but we're really trying to connect people from high school, university and middle school through different activities,” she said.

Despite the challenges, she remains positive.

“Something that I and my team are trying to do now is reaching out and making sure that we get people who don't already have a large presence in activism to be involved,” she said.

“And it’s worked pretty well so far.”

Here’s a list of upcoming events:

Wednesday, March 17
Independent project: Sewing reusable masks

Thursday, March 18
TBD: Tower Opinion Editors - Environmental journalism
PYCW Leadership - Blackout poetry, 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday, March 19
PYCW Leadership - Virtual strike, 11:20 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Cool Blooded Club - Reptiles and climate change, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
PYCW Leadership - Hinds Plaza Strike, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, March 20
PYCW Leadership - Clothing Exchange, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
PYCW Leadership - Catching the Sun movie screening and letter writing, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday, March 21
Independent project: Zero waste collection
TBD: Friends of Princeton Open Space, tree planting
PYCW Leadership - Closing session, 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Program participation is free and open for youth participants of all ages. Click here to learn more about the festival and how to join.

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