Protecting the Arctic from Pennsylvania
My name is Matt and I'm a current organizer with Green Corps. Happy holidays from me and the Green Corps team!
While I’m sad to be wrapping up my first campaign with Green Corps, I’m so energized by the work I was able to do on the Arctic Defense Campaign in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. After seeing my class earlier in December, I’ve realized how much Green Corps has already taught us about becoming successful environmental advocates and the range of issues that we have worked on.
I was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia where I developed a connection with the waterways that surrounded me. However, I also became used to the creeping tides that steadily began playing a larger role in my life. I grew up knowing that all the areas I cherished were threatened by sea level rise, but I didn’t realize that I would see these changes so starkly in my time. When I learned to drive, I also learned to memorize the tide times so I wouldn’t start down a shortcut that was inaccessible at high tide.
This realization led me toward environmental advocacy, as I wanted to help other communities tackle issues similar to the ones I grew up experiencing. In college, this interest only deepened as I worked with a student group to advocate for our school’s divestment from fossil fuels. This issue felt tangible and I could see the impact of organizing when we had meetings with administration and even a tour of the coal power plant still operating on campus. I understood the importance of this work, and how work on a small scale can have a larger impact when people join together. I spent the rest of my time learning as much about the issue areas and the tools available as I could. This eventually led me to Green Corps as the beginning of my professional organizing career.
Following August training, I moved to the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania to test my skills on the Arctic Defense Campaign on behalf of the Alaska Wilderness League. The campaign’s goal is to demonstrate grassroots support for permanent protections for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a pristine wilderness and critical habitat for many species. This area has been under the threat of oil and gas drilling for decades, with new threats arising over the summer of 2025. I built a team to launch a grassroots education and action campaign centered around protecting this area. We collected over 1,400 petition signatures, drove in hundreds of legislator calls, and worked with community organizations to extend this awareness.
We started our education campaign with a trivia event for the students of Lehigh University. Throughout the fall, we hosted two documentary screenings and an expert panel to further deepen people’s understanding of the issue. Across these events, we had over 50 attendees that learned about the importance of this area and what they can do to take action We also got news coverage for an “Arctic Drilling is Scary” press conference that we planned. We delivered these materials to four members of Congress in the area. Now, I look forward to bringing what I’ve learned to a new campaign to advocate for safer, cleaner energy in Chicago!
