The president of Edwardsville High School’s Environmental Club represented the Midwest at a worldwide event this summer.

Senior Eden Vitoff attended a training session for the Climate Reality Leadership Corps on July 9, following his acceptance into the corps. The Climate Reality Project is a non-profit organization founded by Al Gore, who gave influential speeches at the three-day training session in Toronto alongside a selection of the world’s leading climate scientists.

Roughly 600 people from over 60 countries attended the training. “It was really fun to meet so many scientifically-minded people,” Vitoff said about the diverse group.

In two of the three day-long events, various speakers shared information on global climate change. On the third day, participants took to the streets of Toronto to petition for environmental legislation in the city.

Vitoff remains proactive in creating a more environmentally-conscious community here in Edwardsville, as well as statewide. With the resources attained at the training session, Vitoff has petitioned for the creation of clean jobs in Illinois with The Green LYFE (Leading Youth For the Environment) Network, a non-profit organization of which he is a founder.

“The Environmental Club has grown even more efficient since Eden’s training,” Environmental Club vice president Ian Balakrishnan said. “He has brought back many skills that have been very useful to not only the environmental club but to Green LYFE as well.”

Vitoff will also network with many organizations to give speeches on the severity of global warming.

“I plan to spread the word of the reality of climate change,” Vitoff said. “My part in the battle for scientific literacy of the community is letting the people know.”

Vitoff encourages anyone and everyone interested in betterment of the environment to take action in their community.

“Once we get people to understand the severity of this issue, I believe people will become passionate about it,” he says. “We can work together to create an environmentally sound future.”