Montana Families Leading Climate Action

When a group of climate-concerned parents founded Families for a Livable Climate (FLC) in 2019, they wanted to build something that they saw was missing in Montana’s environmental movement: a space where families could find community, build skills, and lead change together.  

Six years later, Families for a Livable Climate has grown into a network of over 2,000 Montanans and dozens of partners organizations making climate action joyful, intergenerational, and deeply rooted in care for each other and the planet. Through our Family Power Fund, we’re proud to support this Missoula-based nonprofit as they redefine what climate leadership looks like by centering the voices and realities of Montana families. 

Families for a Livable Climate gave me a sense of hope and community when I first moved to Montana and was feeling deep climate dread. I want—for myself and for my family—to be grounded by a sense of community and connection to the earth, and motivated by the power of collective action. Which is exactly what FLC sets out to do. 

Many participants describe feeling isolated and overwhelmed by climate anxiety before connecting with FLC, especially parents, youth, and caregivers who don’t see themselves represented in traditional environmental spaces. Through public storytelling and other events like community potlucks, outdoor excursions, and park play dates, FLC helps people share their concerns, connect with others, and find purpose. They remove barriers to participation by offering stipends and making events family-friendly and accessible. The sense of belonging this builds not only supports mental health and connection; it fuels sustained climate leadership. 

Once folks connect with FLC, they can plug into leadership opportunities like volunteer working groups, where they can gain hands-on training in campaign planning and grassroots organizing, empowering them to turn concern into meaningful advocacy and real wins. Through this work, parents, caregivers, and youth participate in climate advocacy, but they also learn how to shape it, lead it, and build the skills and relationships to sustain it.   

Since starting with FLC two years ago, they have connected me to this incredible network of young people, activists, and leaders in the climate movement, and I am so grateful to be a part of it all. 

FLC prioritizes youth leadership through programs like the recent Montana Youth Climate Summit—a two-day gathering hosted by the Park County Environmental Council and supported by FLC. The summit brought together 50 students from around Montana. Young people learned from climate professionals and storytellers, discussed recent youth climate cases like Lighthizer vs. Trump, and helped shape a youth mentorship network that FLC is launching soon to connect people in the movement across generations.  

Whether at the local or state level, FLC ensures that youth and families are present and powerful in the rooms where decisions are made. Their volunteers testify before legislative committees, engage with local institutions, and educate their peers. And the impact has been substantial: their projects have helped move bills for plastic-reduction and clean energy through the legislature to the Governor’s desk, supported Montanans in divesting over $17 million from fossil fuels, gathered over 1,000 signatures calling for clean energy investment, led a ballot initiative to reduce plastic pollution in Missoula, and more.  

We’re so grateful to Families for a Livable Climate for the work they do and honored to support them through our Family Power Fund. They’re demonstrating that when people feel supported and connected, they’re more likely to take meaningful action, and that when caregivers and future generations most affected are centered in the conversation, the solutions become more grounded, more just, and more effective. 

Families for Livable Climate is excited to continue growing to include more volunteers from climate-impacted communities, spanning the full diversity of Montana. To learn more and support Families for a Livable Climate, visit their website, follow them on social media (Instagram, Facebook), and bring your family to an upcoming event.