Equity Principles | Our Future | Partners for Sustainable Schools

Inclusion

We at Our Future recognize that Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+ people, people living with disabilities, and other underserved groups are underrepresented and often unheard in their communities. These groups lack resources and opportunities due to systemic racism, systemic oppression, and other flaws in the system. We recognize that these disparities must be addressed and that we must center the needs, perspectives, and strengths of those who have been historically marginalized. We understand this to be what equity looks like.

Equal Opportunity

We also believe that climate change disproportionately affects these groups and communities. In our work, we strive to listen to, educate, and empower young adolescents to uphold principles of environmental and social justice in how we address climate change.

Environmental Justice

We believe that environmental justice mandates the right to ethical, balanced, and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for all living things. In line with our mission to address climate change, and to create a more just world, we recognize that a just world needs to be serving all individuals and communities; we will be intentional about this in our efforts. We acknowledge that environmental justice requires public policy and advocacy to be based on respect and justice for all peoples, free from discrimination or bias.

Diversity

We know that when diverse voices are listened to, real and just change is possible. Therefore, we are committed to creating positive change for this world and we know it starts with diversifying our team, our students, our advisors, and our partners.

How we embody these principles in Our Future:

Increasing diversity and equity among the statewide network (including RLs, student participants, teacher, advisors, partners, etc.) so that our work benefits from a range of perspectives and experiences.

Creating and acting on Equitable Climate Action Plans that are truly equitable and in line with achieving social justice

Engaging in respectful and inclusive communication amongst all parties of our network.

Considering all of the people in the spaces we are working in (e.g. schools, towns, communities) and creating a more inclusive and safe environment for all members of the community, especially our students.

Don’t just take our word for it...

"My internship for Our Future has helped me understand the expectations and responsibilities of having a job. It has given me a job experience that I can add to my resume, but for me it's not just that. I feel like I am helping implement change in my community and helping the world with my actions."

Zoe Brash

Lakeridge High School

"The Salem-Keizer school district is taking big steps to become more eco-friendly thanks to Our Future, and being a part of the change like this is such a golden opportunity."

Sam Hart

Early College High School

"This internship has allowed me to explore future career interests of mine, primarily in policy & environmental studies. I am excited to work with likeminded people, enacting change across Oregon."

Nora Whalen

South Eugene High School

"I love being a part of Our Future, as it’s given me opportunities to expand my leadership skills, get more involved in Oregon’s legislative process, and implement more change in my school/community."

Matea Lafrenz

Caldera High School

"Our Future is a growing network, and with this growth we have been able to achieve so much, from implementing composting systems into schools, to creating environmental advisory boards for specific school districts."

Maggie O'Sullivan

Bend Senior High School

"As an advocate for climate justice the Our Future internship has allowed me to work on important legislation and see it come to fruition firsthand."

Maddie Joyce

Caldera High School

"Being a part of Our Future helped me feel like I was making a positive difference at the state level. So often as teens, we can feel limited in what we can do to impact our communities. Our Future helped me get beyond that thought and see my actions be played out at the state level. I got a sense of accomplishment from the program."

Lottie Rohde

Churchill High School

"This internship helps you gain the tools to enact change in your school to better our climate. Seeing real change in your community and having a network to share it with is a fulfilling experience."

Johanna Ritter

West Cleveland High School

"I've been able to connect Our Future projects with the environmental club at my school and have enjoyed seeing tangible results from our work, such as students supporting a bill and a compost system being implemented at our school."

Avery Erdmann

West Salem High School