The Birth of Our Children's Trust: A Mother's Day to Remember
By Julia Olson
May 8, 2025
Julia Olson and Juliana v. U.S. youth plaintiffs in Portland, Oregon, for a court hearing (June 2019).
In May 2011, something remarkable happened in the landscape of climate activism. Our Children's Trust launched an unprecedented legal campaign that would forever change how we think about climate change and constitutional rights. We launched over 50 legal actions all at the same time to coincide with hundreds of youth-led climate marches around the world. This movement marked the emergence of our organization's public journey—one that would go on to transform climate litigation and advocacy worldwide.
We chose Mother's Day weekend deliberately—a powerful symbol that protecting our children's future is perhaps the most fundamental expression of a mother's love.
The Founding Vision: A Mother's Mission
As a mother and attorney, I founded Our Children's Trust in 2010, driven by a profound concern for the world our children would inherit. The countless scientific reports painted a devastating picture of our future if we continued on our current energy path. But it was the trusting faces of my own children that truly ignited me to act with urgency and purpose.
With invaluable guidance from my colleague Mary Christina Wood, who created the concept of "Atmospheric Trust Litigation," we established a clear mission: to provide legal representation to young people in lawsuits against government entities for actions causing and worsening climate change and for betraying their duties as trustees over natural resources necessary for survival. Unlike traditional environmental organizations, we focused exclusively on representing children, recognizing that they had the most at stake in the climate crisis but the least political power to address it. As a mother, I understood at a visceral level how critical this work was—not just for my children, but for all children.
The Mother's Day Legal Action
After months of careful planning with talented attorneys nationwide, on May 4, 2011, just days before Mother's Day, young people with our help brought coordinated legal actions across all 50 states and against the federal government. We helped launch the first international climate rights cases on behalf of youth, too. Our "Atmospheric Trust Litigation" argument was powerfully simple: governments have a legal responsibility to protect the atmosphere for future generations as a public trust, just as they must protect our waters.
What made our approach revolutionary was its foundation in rights-based advocacy. Rather than merely pushing for incrementally better policies and projects, we asserted that a stable climate is a fundamental right belonging to every young person—one that governments have a constitutional obligation to protect, right now. This rights-based framework elevated climate action from a policy preference to a legal imperative, giving youth standing to demand protection through the courts when the political and administrative process had failed them.
As a mother, I saw this legal strategy as perhaps the most important gift we could give to our children—a pathway to hold those in power accountable for protecting their futures. These lawsuits were not just symbolism or awareness-raising—they were a serious legal challenge to government systems that lock in fossil fuel energy and prevent climate action, filed on behalf of the most important clients I could ever represent: our children.
Youth Voices Amplified
Juliana v. U.S. climate rights rally in Eugene, Oregon (October 2018).
While our legal campaign formed the backbone of Our Children's Trust's strategy, we knew that the voices of young people needed to be heard not just in courtrooms, but in the public sphere as well. The Mother's Day weekend also saw youth climate marches in places around the world, bringing attention to our legal actions and amplifying the urgency of addressing climate change.
I'll never forget sitting with these young plaintiffs as they prepared to speak. Their courage in standing up for their right to a stable climate inspired me then and continues to drive our work today. These weren't political talking points—they were speaking from their hearts about their lives today and about safeguarding their future, their siblings’ futures, and the future of every child to come. Our clients are filled with a deep-rooted love and empathy.
Our approach has always been to let youth lead. We provide the legal and scientific expertise, but the young people we represent are the true heart of this movement. Their lived experiences, fears, hopes, and skills transform abstract legal arguments and scientific data into compelling human stories that reconnect judges, politicians, and the public with our democratic ideals.
Our Children's Trust: A Growing Legacy
Held v. Montana youth plaintiffs at the first constitutional climate trial in the U.S. (June 2023).
From these beginnings in 2011, Our Children's Trust has expanded our work globally, supporting youth-led climate litigation around the world. As of 2025, our cases have achieved significant victories, including our landmark win in the Held v. Montana case, which affirmed constitutional rights to a safe and livable climate.
The tide is turning. I can feel the momentum building every day as youth win climate rights in the highest courts of our land. Even right now, I am filled with optimism as youth, the lawyers, government scientists, and supporters like you step up with courage in the face of fascist threats and oligarchs. We are all stepping in to fill the fissures of democracy with transformative justice that heals and builds the future our children deserve.
A Mother's Commitment to All Children
Julia Olson walking into court for oral arguments (June 2019).
Looking back from 2025, I can see how that Mother's Day weekend set in motion a powerful approach to climate activism. Every victory in the courtroom, every hearing where our young plaintiffs speak their truth—these are all fulfillments of the promise we made in 2011.
As both an attorney and a mother, I remain driven by the same fierce determination that led me to found Our Children's Trust. My commitment isn't just professional—it's the unwavering commitment that those who mother understand. We don’t turn away.
The message remains as urgent as ever: our children's future matters, and they deserve a livable planet.
The next chapter of this story is about to unfold. The groundwork has been laid, the legal precedents established, and the coalition strengthened. What comes next will redefine the boundaries of what's possible and I need you to believe in it with us and with the young people we represent—believe that the constitutional rights we secured in Montana and in Hawai‘i we can secure through the U.S. Constitution, too. Our children’s rights are inextricably woven into the fabric of that parchment, and this, my friends, is the moment to see them and make their meaning visible for all, including those who claim power to destroy them. Through the ongoing work of Our Children's Trust and the youth climate rights movement it helped to catalyze, our promise to protect our children's future will continue to echo through courtrooms and streets around the world, until it is a cacophony of spring songbirds. As you sit with that thought, play this song loudly, breathe deeply, and believe.