On September 24, a group of students and community members will walk alongside Lake Shore Boulevard in Marquette, Michigan. The third annual Marquette Climate Walk and Festival is for community members to come together, take a stance in protecting the environment and support local food, artists, businesses and more. Now is the time to join forces in fighting for the preservation of our planet. We are speaking up for something that does not have its own voice; nature.

My environmental campaigns class at Northern Michigan University is running the Marquette Climate Walk. We are a collection of students who have different interests, studies and passions but we collaborate by sharing knowledge and connections. Each one of us took charge on different aspects of the campaign to plan and make it happen in less than a month.

We want more people to realize that climate change is real. It impacts our environment, not just the polar bears and places too far away to see. Our climate could be affected in a variety of ways, one being a slow loss of winter and warmer, humid summer days. Aside from predictions, we cannot understand how the environment will be different in ten, fifty or a hundred years from now. But things that people identify with as being a “Yooper,” such as having pride for being tough enough to handle the long and grueling winters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, could be slowly slipping away.

Ecosystems are being altered forever. Land is being stripped of its resources for mass cultivation and consumption. Natural habitats and species are being slaughtered. Not enough is being done by people who have the power to change this. Money is all that matters to some, but not here in Marquette. Here we have a community of people who care and work hard to preserve the environment and local economy. We treasure our unspoiled forests and uncontaminated lake shore.

It is easy to shrug climate change off your shoulders and tell yourself there is nothing you can do about it, but that is not true. Everyone is capable of making a difference. By causing change at a local level, we can lessen the damage and reduce the magnitude of severe changes to the climate. We hope to ignite passion in others to work towards the same goal.

Everyone is welcome to join us at the South Beach parking lot in Marquette on September 24 at 12pm, rain or shine. The Climate Walk will end once we reach Presque Isle Park. There will be an assortment of booths featuring local farmers, food, artists and jewelry makers, live bands and more. It is a great opportunity to try local food, support artists and musicians and build a bridge with others who care about the environment. The more people who join forces, the greater difference can be made.

We are coming together to walk the shores of Lake Superior, a lake anyone who knows it holds dear to their heart. The Marquette Climate Walk and Festival is our way of standing up and cherishing the environment.