15-year-old Alexandria Villaseñor watched the deadliest fire in California's history burn through entire towns. Now she's leading a 'battle cry' for global action on climate change.

• At 15 years old, Alexandria Villaseñor has established herself as a prominent player in the fight against climate change.

• After witnessing the deadliest wildfire in California's history, she began researching the devastating effects of the climate crisis. Villaseñor began striking every Friday outside the United Nations headquarters and continued her protests for over a year.

• She went on to found Earth Uprising, a youth-led movement connecting and educating activists committed to holding world leaders accountable for battling climate change.

• Villaseñor is on Insider's list of Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us. Check out the full list here.

• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Growing up in Northern California, Alexandria Villaseñor spent much of her free time outdoors. Her family liked to hike the trails in the woods near their home, and one of the 15-year-old's earliest memories is catching tadpoles with her father.

"I've always felt really connected to nature," she told Insider. "I hope that's something everyone can be in tune with."

While Villaseñor's family relocated to New York City in 2018, she frequently traveled back to Davis, California, for visits. On one trip home in November 2018, she witnessed the Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. The blaze ravaged the town of Paradise, killing 85 people and destroying an estimated 19,000 buildings.

The environmental impact of the fire was also clear. The air-quality index, which measures levels of dangerous smoke and exhausted particulates in the air, reached 246 in Oakland — which is over 160 miles from Paradise — NBC News reported at the time.

The scene is one that Villaseñor, who was staying nearby with family, will never forget.

"We got so much smoke. The smoke was seeping into the house, and we had to find ways to keep it from coming in," she said. "I also have asthma, so it was making me sick." Ultimately, her family decided to cut the trip short and send her back to New York for her safety.

The fire was a turning point for Villaseñor.

"I was very upset seeing what was happening to my community," she said. "So I wanted to research and find out why that was happening."

She read research papers that found connections between climate change and wildfires, among other devastating natural disasters, and they introduced her to a world of information about a crisis her generation is doomed to inherit. Exacerbating her newfound climate anxieties, Villaseñor said, was the realization that she and her peers knew very little about the environmental issues that would undoubtedly affect their futures.

After weeks of research, she decided to channel her anxieties into action

In December 2018, one month after the fire, Villaseñor, then 13, began striking in front of the United Nations Headquarters to bolster US support for the school-strike movement spearheaded by teens in Europe. Every Friday at 8:00 a.m., she left her Manhattan home and took the subway downtown.

After a 10 minute walk from Grand Central Station, she would take her place as the sole protester outside the imposing building on East 42nd Street.

"I sit on the bench for about four hours, or at least until I'm numb," she told Teen Vogue at the time. In one photo taken for the outlet, she sits in front of a School Strike 4 Climate sign, clad in a purple coat, with her long brown hair poking out from under a hat.

Villaseñor continued the routine for well over a year, making the trip downtown once a week until the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a change of plans. (Earlier in 2020, the teenager temporarily relocated to California to quarantine and take online classes, but she plans to return to New York).

As she became a public figure in the activism space and facilitated more and more youth discussions, Villaseñor felt a responsibility to help educate her peers on the reality of the climate crisis.

"There are so, so many young people that don't really know what's happening to our planet," she said. "I quickly found out just how serious the lack of climate education was." And as fires rage once again in California, her mission will only become more important.

She decided that her activism needed to expand beyond protesting

In 2019, Villaseñor founded Earth Uprising — a youth-led movement that describes itself as "a battle cry" for global action on climate change. The organization hopes to connect and educate youth activists who demand that world leaders implement changes to keep the planet below 2 degrees Celsius of warming. Among its priorities are respecting and believing science, focusing on equity when determining climate-change solutions, and promoting nonviolent conflict resolution.

"I want to focus on education and empower people all over the world to take direct action," she said of the endeavor.

Most recently, her activism is taking the form of creative nonfiction writing — she just contributed an essay about biodiversity and intergenerational inequality to "All We Can Save," a forthcoming collection of essays from women in the climate space.

Ultimately, she hopes the wide array of experiences in the book will bring more people to environmental activism.

"There are so many diverse stories in there from women in all different sectors of our society," she said. "Reading this book, you'll find someone whose message and mission resonates with you. You'll find your compass in this movement."

Balancing her responsibilities as a 'climate leader' and being a normal 15-year-old can be a challenge

"I've really had to figure out how to prevent activism burnout," Villaseñor said. "Burnout is really a thing. We push ourselves so much when organizing, and it can become really hard to continue. So I've really had to prioritize self-care and taking time to reconnect with myself."

Sometimes, she said, this means taking a few days "every once in a while" to unwind by reading or even playing "Animal Crossing." On days when there's no time to rest, the teenager relies on caffeine. "I'm 15 and definitely addicted to coffee," she joked.

Support from her family and building connections while making an impact make the challenges worthwhile, Villaseñor said.

"I've gotten to meet so many amazing people and work with them in meaningful ways," she said. "At the end of the day, that's really what keeps you organizing."

Read more:

The Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us

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