On October 4, 2026, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Cleveland will be hosting their Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour Event in the Strosacker Auditorium at Case Western Reserve University. The Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Cleveland will bring together community members for a fun afternoon of short films focused on climate resiliency. Attendees will get to know Citizens’ Climate Lobby Cleveland Chapter, the local host organization, and browse literature from their Community Partners, all great organizations that share an interest in protecting natural spaces and providing access to them. During the intermission, they will have some guided community conversation so that attendees can get to know each other and find inspiration in the many ways the community is taking action for climate and the environment.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) empowers everyday people to bridge divides and build political will for effective climate solutions in Congress. They’re a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on federal climate solutions. Their consistently respectful, nonpartisan approach is designed to create a broad, sustainable base of support for climate action. They train and support volunteers to build relationships with elected officials, the media, and their local community, always building on shared values rather than partisan divides.
Their volunteers include everyone from high school students to concerned grandparents, engineers in the natural gas industry, house painters, farmers, and everyone in between. Some are PhDs who have spent careers researching the intricacies of climate change; others are concerned citizens who just want to know how to help. They’re all united by a commitment to making their voices heard as they call for a healthy climate movement and future.
The Cleveland Chapter of CCL meets virtually once a month to plan their outreach activities, which range from gathering signatures at farmers’ markets to installing educational public art to meeting with elected officials here and in D.C. They train citizens how to lobby in support of climate solutions through respectful relationships with lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate. They train citizens how to engage with and influence the media. They write letters to the editors and op-eds, serve as sources for local climate and energy reporters, and more.
As well, they recruit and educate the public on climate solutions through activities like tabling at local events and giving presentations about climate solutions to other community groups.
Above all else, they seek to educate and elevate the voices of community leaders in order to better encourage Congress to act on climate.
Torrey McMillan says, “Citizens’ Climate Lobby Cleveland Chapter is run entirely by volunteers on a tiny budget. We rely on our members’ generosity with their time and money to support our work. WSFF On Tour helps us connect with our broader Northeast Ohio community, hopefully inspiring others to join our efforts and the festival proceeds support our activities, including sending a few members to our national conference in Washington, DC.”
Torrey also notes, “This is our first year hosting the event, and we are so excited to bring it back to Cleveland after a couple year hiatus. We are looking forward to bringing together so many people who care about our planet and connecting them to us and to each other.”
