User:Shelly1039/sandbox

Joseph Wilkanowski grew up in Medellin, Colombia. He was adopted at the age of four and moved to New York City with his parents soon after. Joseph, 18, a high school senior, focuses on racial justice within underprivileged communities and is new to environmental activist scene. He hopes to continue activism while in college and continues to use new resources given to him to further educate others on global issues. He has been featured in many articles such a reach not preach and flaunt magazine.

"We The Planet is the international, Gen Z-led climate activist group. Though their plans for an Earth Day strike were canceled, it didn’t deter their mission to educate the public and advocate for change. Today, Xiye Bastida, Joseph Wilkanowski, Sebastián Benfeld, Solomon Anomet O’Jay, plus the many members and volunteers apart of We The Planet, have organized a campaign to do just that":

Tell us about the events and actions apart of We The Planet's Earth Day campaign.

Due to the overall constrictions of the pandemic, activists from around the world are now forced to think about new ways to make up for not being able to go out on the streets. We The Planet has prioritized making sure that we have multiple interviews that either our core coordinators are taking or members of our volunteer team. We have also been able to set up webinars, and other school education live streams for any questions that students or the public would have. Tessie, Kate, Aman, and I just took part in a webinar with a school located in India, and we were amazed by the deep and riveting questions we received.

On Earth Day, many of us are taking part in webinars or interviews to educate or answer people about climate awareness and justice. This Earth Day, people should prioritize education and tangible action. There are so many ways to advocate for the environment, but it's extremely important to become aware of the harmful habits or practices that you or your community engage in. Once you have this knowledge and understanding, it's much easier to recognize issues and develop solutions. Find helpful articles, studies, pieces of legislation you want to support, etc. and share them with the people around you! Then, figure out what steps you can take in your own life, whether it's buying produce locally or reducing your plastic consumption, and make an action plan to continue sustainability even after Earth Day.

—Joseph Wilkanowski

He continues to be apart of We The Planet that has now turned into Re-Earth Initiative.