Inspired by Greta Thunberg, Alana Sacarello takes silver in global letter-writing competition

I have just returned from our local strike for climate action and feel so happy with how many people have joined together to protect for climate justice. I cannot believe how quickly the movement has started and all because of Greta Thunberg. You mentioned that you had not hear of her last time we spoke as I wanted to tell you a little bit about her so that you realise how amazing she is.

A few years ago Greta became really sick because she could not understand why people were destroying the planet but were doing nothing about it. She stopped eating and stopped speaking and was diagnosed with a type of autism, OCD and selective mutism. She decided she needed to do something and started skipping school on Fridays, sitting outside the Swedish parliament, protesting for more action against climate change. People started to notice her, scientists supported her, her message was shared on social media and students all over the world joined her protest.

I feel that she is amazing for many reasons.

She has made so much impact at such a young age. At only 15 years old, she stood in front of World Leaders at the UN and told them that they had failed our generation. At 16, she has led over a million students on strike.

She believes in it so much that she now vegan and she doesn’t fly on airplanes. Greta is so brave and courageous and she does it because she cares about our planet, but she doesn’t care about being popular.

I also admire her because she does not just look up her speeches on the internet, she works hard on them and makes sure all her facts are correct. She has millions of followers from all over the world and has already made a change, for example, the EU have said that they will donate millions of euros towards climate action. This is the reason Greta Thunberg is my hero.

I hope to see you soon.