Indiana State University Newsroom

"To change everything, we need everyone."

That was the rallying cry as "climate marches" took place world-wide in the name of climate change, preceding a meeting of more than 100 world leaders to discuss the issue.

A trio of Indiana State University students took part in the Sept. 21 march in New York City to show fellow students that they are serious about climate change, and that joining the club can allow environmentally-conscious students to make an impact.

"It's everybody's issue, and it's going to increasingly become everybody's issue as time goes on," said Zach Nickerson, president of the Sycamore Environmental Action Club and a senior from Columbus majoring in chemistry and biology.

Visiting New York City was "quite an experience" for Nickerson; as it was for Jordanna Bilyeu, a junior from Crawfordsville majoring in elementary education and head of the club's education outreach committee.

Bilyeu noted that, living in small town Indiana, "you don't see many people actively fighting for climate change or the environment."

The most interesting part of participating in the march, the students said, was seeing more than 400,000 people-old and young, of different national, racial, and economic backgrounds-in a single place, in a single day, in a single city, marching for the same reason: to bring awareness to climate change and convince others that it is a cause worth fighting for.

According to Nickerson and Bilyeu, the experience further fueled their drive and it personally inspired Nickerson to increase outreach education and arrange more opportunities for participation in events such Has the People's Climate March, which is something that Nickerson would, he said, definitely do again if it became an annual event.

The club's tenacity proved another message from the club to fellow Sycamores.

"Don't be afraid to do something--be active in things you're passionate about, and don't just make yourself solitary on this campus. You're an adult and you should just go out there and do things," Bilyeu said.

Information on the Sycamore Environmental Action Club is available by contacting Nickerson at znickerson@sycamores.indstate.edu.

Photo: http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-3T7twK8/0/2/i-3TX7twK8-2X.png - Indiana State University students (left to right) Holly Black, Jordanna Bilyeu and Zach Nickerson, members of the university's Student Environmental Action Club, took part in a climate march in New York city Sept. 21, 2014.

Writer: Kristen Kilker, media relations assistant, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3773 or kkilker@sycamores.indstate.edu