Tess Kenney, Naperville Sun
Aug 23, 2024
Illinois is joining a handful of states across the country that have made climate change education a matter of law. And it’s in part thanks to a student from Naperville. Over the past year, recent Neuqua Valley High School graduate Grace Brady helped create and write House Bill 4895.
In part, Brady’s interest in climate change education was stoked in a course she took last year during which she was tasked with researching how the topic could be better addressed in Illinois schools. Meanwhile, in summer 2023, Brady also interned with Naperville-based environmental nonprofit Accelerate Climate Solutions.
Between the two, Brady found herself grappling with the concern that, in her experience, climate change “was just kind of something that was touched on but not really talked about in detail (in school),” she said. She wanted to do something about it.