Local teen climate activists had longstanding plans for an Earth Day climate march in downtown Bend on Wednesday, but the COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible.

So the group of eight teens — who call themselves the Deschutes Youth Climate Congress — found a workaround solution: make the strike digital, powered by social media.

These students want to let Central Oregon, and the world, know that climate change isn’t going to pause during the pandemic.

“No matter what global events occur, the clock is still ticking for climate change,” said Freddy Finney-Jordet, an 18-year-old senior at Redmond Proficiency Academy.

“The climate crisis isn’t going anywhere during the quarantine,” added Sydney Dedrick, a 17-year-old junior at Bend High School.

Some of the Deschutes Youth Climate Congress members are the same Bend High School students who planned a youth climate summit at the High Desert Museum, which was canceled due to COVID-19.

The students have planned a three-day virtual event for this week, with the help of local progressive and environmental groups such as the Sierra Club Juniper Group, 350Deschutes and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters.

Everything scheduled during the strike, from recorded or livestreamed speeches to art, will be posted on social media — mainly through the Instagram account of @co_youthclimatestrike, but also on the CO Youth Climate Strike page on Facebook, Finney-Jordet said.

There are many environmental demands the students hope to bring attention to with the virtual strike. These include replacing power from the Boardman Coal Plant with zero-emission energy sources, updating electric and water grids nationwide and passing a national Green New Deal to combat climate change, according to a press release from the Deschutes Youth Climate Congress.

On Wednesday, the social media pages will share photos and videos of people, both locally and around the world, striking at home. Those interested in being featured can post a picture with the hashtag #StrikeFromHome, or #HuelgaDesdeCasa for those who speak Spanish, the students said.

Multiple speeches will also be broadcast on the Instagram and Facebook pages Wednesday. And not just from the teens — the local students also rounded up a group of prominent local politicians and leaders. The list of adult speakers include U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel and Oregon Secretary of State candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who lost to U.S. Rep. Greg Walden when she ran as a Democrat for the congressional seat in 2018.

Galen Genevieve “GG” Johnson, a 17-year-old junior at Bend High School, said she appreciated these politicians’ willingness to actively participate in the strike, instead of only patting the students on the back afterwards.

“It’s nice to have the attention of politicians that are in support of (our mission), and not just hear about it after the fact,” she said.

McLeod-Skinner, who lives in Terrebonne, said she was thrilled to support Central Oregon’s young climate activists. Teens have been vigilantly fighting to protect the Earth, particularly compared to older generations, she said.

“We’re seeing a remarkable surge in leadership from younger Oregonians around the climate crisis,” McLeod-Skinner said. “Those of us who are older have failed in this area, we’ve not done enough.”

Merkley was not available for comment. His office’s spokesperson said in an email that the senator’s speech will “praise them for mobilizing in the essence and spirit of Earth Day.”

On Thursday, the strike’s social media pages will post templates for how to email or call local representatives to pressure them to push forward climate legislation.

On Friday, the final day, the students will share songs and any other pieces of climate-related art that were submitted to the Deschutes Youth Climate Congress. All entrants will be placed into a raffle to win prizes, including gift cards to Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia, said Finney-Jordet and Dedrick.

The students aren’t sure whether hosting the strike online will draw a lot of people compared to a march through downtown. But their fingers are crossed that the dullness of quarantining will draw students and adults to their event.

“I’m hoping people engage, because they’re at home, bored, with nothing to do,” Johnson said. “They might as well (join in).”