High school students win groundbreaking case against government in historic legal fight: 'It gave me a lot of hope'

In Montana, a group of climate activists is reshaping what environmental advocacy looks like. 

Known as the Green Initiative, this student-led movement emerged from high schools across the state. Their mission? To secure a livable future for their generation — and for all those to come.

Ripley Cunningham, a Park High School student and member of the Green Initiative, spoke at a statewide climate gathering, as High Country News shared. 

"I am comforted in knowing that we have an interconnected community of people fighting for the future of our home," Cunningham said.

Climate action wasn't sparked by a news headline for these Montana teens — it started at home. They saw the effects of a warming planet up close: smoke-filled skies from summer wildfires, floods threatening their towns, and an outbreak of parasites on the Yellowstone River. 

Their journey into climate action gained national attention with the Held v. Montana lawsuit, where 16 students took the state government to court. At the heart of their case was a simple yet powerful claim. They believed the government violated their constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment. 

Green Initiative participant Eva Lighthiser testified, "I felt like I needed to take action, and this felt like a way to do it."

In 2023, their case went to trial, and in August, the court agreed. The groundbreaking decision made Held v. Montana the first U.S. constitutional climate case to go to trial and win. 

Jorja McCormick, a Green Initiative member, said, per High Country News, "It gave me a lot of hope that we are going to be able to make independent change within our community and, hopefully, within the state."

But winning in court was just the beginning.

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These students didn't stop once the gavel dropped. They returned to their communities energized with ideas, from submitting to the local newspaper to compiling air quality data on school bus diesel pollution. They're tackling a major issue: the ongoing expansion of dirty fuels in the face of a warming planet.

"The case set the bar, and now we just have to reach it," said McCormick.

Addressing the changing climate at the policy level doesn't just benefit future generations — it brings immediate benefits. Clean energy and sustainability-focused decisions can mean lower energy costs, better air quality, healthier communities, and new jobs. The students' work is a model for civic engagement that empowers others to get involved, regardless of age.

"They're amazing," Alecia Jongeward, a former science teacher who still sponsors the club, told High Country News. "It's incredible to see the drive that young people can have if you just give them the platform."

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