Each month, we highlight a Super Volunteer of the Month, a parent or child who has gone above and beyond to advocate for clean air and children’s health. Our members in states across the country are more important than ever as we work to preserve clean air and climate protections. Will you join us?
This month, we are celebrating Gavin Lynch, who graduated from high school in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this past weekend. Congrats, Gavin! He was nominated by his mom, Vanessa Lynch, Moms’ Pennsylvania Campaigns Coordinator, who has been including him in her advocacy for the last decade. Together, they’ve attended local government meetings speaking out against oil and gas development in their community, urged lawmakers and state agencies to pass strong protections for climate-warming methane, and spoken at press events calling for cleaner energy.
Tell EPA: Families Deserve a Voice Before Polluters Break Ground
This fall, Gavin is headed to Clemson University to study environmental engineering, the perfect marriage of his love of math and science and passion for protecting the planet. We spoke to him about how growing up in an oil and gas community has impacted his life and the inspiration he draws from his mom.
When did you first become interested in environmental and air quality issues?
When I was around eight years old, I went to a local Indiana Township Board of Supervisors meeting with my mom. They were talking about putting a new well pad [a site for methane gas extraction operations] near a local park that I played in all the time. The people in my community didn’t want it to be there because water from fracking [the process of extracting gas from rock formations underground] could seep into the creek at the park.
They did wind up building the well pad. But seeing the passion of the people in my community really inspired me to make fighting for clean air and water my own fight as well.
Do you see a connection between air quality and health in your life?
Yeah, I’ve definitely seen things that could have been caused by the oil and gas pollution in our community, though there isn’t a way to know exactly. I had a friend when I was a kid who had asthma. One day after the well pad opened, he had a really severe asthma attack—the worst one he’d ever had—while we were playing outside. He fell to the ground and couldn’t breathe well for a few minutes. I had to get one of my friends to run and grab his inhaler. It was really scary to see that, especially being as young as I was, around 9 or 10 at the time. It made it important to me to make sure we can protect everyone by working to make the air cleaner.
What role do you think young people play in addressing the climate crisis?
Hearing about young people’s environmental advocacy can be really moving for adults who make key decisions. It’s also important for young people to get involved because it’s our world; we’ll be here the longest.
Also, as you’re entering college, like I am now, it’s helpful to know that you want to work on this. Being passionate about the environment at a young age is how you get more environmental engineers and more people in advocacy and more politicians who really care about the environment.
Have you had any big wins as an advocate?
One of the most influential things I’ve done is speak for Moms last year at the Community College of Allegheny County during an event about the college’s solar installations. Representative Chris Deluzio (PA-17) was there and also gave a speech. He came up to me and shook my hand after, which was really cool.
Later on, I talked to a reporter from the local Pittsburgh outlet WESA, and she wrote an article about the press event. Then a few people saw the article and asked me about it. It was cool to have it loop back around and have someone hear about what I was doing without me telling them directly.
What advice do you have for other young people looking to get into advocacy?
There are so many things anyone can do in their community that are so impactful. Hands-on stuff, like I’ve also spent hours volunteering at local parks, helping to clean up trails, take out invasive species, and plant trees. This helps our forest ecosystems recover from the damage that humans have caused.
I originally got into park cleanups because I took AP Environmental Science at my high school, and we had to do volunteer hours for that. But afterward, I just wanted to go back more.
Who is your climate hero?
I would say definitely my mom. She is a great advocate and does a lot of work to help with the environment. And she’s why I got into this in the first place. She was the one who got me to the first board meeting. She puts so much effort into her work and is so determined to make an impact. It’s really cool to see that all the time. She inspires me to work harder every day and to care about Earth, because it’s where we all live.
Tell EPA: Families Deserve a Voice Before Polluters Break Ground