Rewriting the Narrative: How Girl + Environment Is Empowering Women of Color to Lead on Climate

Chapters

00:00 Meet Diamond Spratling 

01:07 How Diamond Found Her Way into Climate Justice Work 

06:23 What Sets Girl + Environment Apart 

11:20 What Gen Z Understands About Climate That Older Generations Don’t 

17:38 Making Climate and Equity Conversations Mainstream 

23:23 Where the Climate Movement Has Made Progress, and Where It Falls Short 

27:38 Advice for Getting Involved in Georgia 

29:16 What’s Giving Diamond Spratling Hope

How do we make climate conversations feel urgent, but not overwhelming? For Diamond Spratling of Girl + Environment, the answer lies in culture, communication, and community. Her work is helping women of color claim their place in climate leadership across Georgia and beyond.

In this edition of the Georgia Climate Digest interview series, host Eriqah Vincent sits down with Diamond, founder and Executive Director of Girl + Environment, to talk about her path into climate work, the importance of intergenerational connection, and how her organization is reshaping who gets to lead on climate.

How Did Diamond Spratling Find Her Way into Climate Justice?

Diamond traces her path back to a childhood spent outdoors on the west side of Detroit, and an early realization that there weren’t many people who looked like her in environmental spaces. An internship exploring the intersection of environment and health became a turning point, showing her that communities of color cared deeply about these issues; they just weren’t having the conversations that made them feel real and urgent. That frustration led her to found Girl + Environment nearly seven years ago.

What Makes Girl + Environment’s Approach Different?

With more than 500 members, most of them in Georgia, Girl + Environment reaches a largely Gen Z and millennial audience by connecting climate issues to topics that already resonate, like beauty products, hair care, and periods. “We meet people where they are,” Diamond says, describing programs that range from public comment training to a workforce development initiative and a program training hairdressers as community health advocates on endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

Why Does Health Make Climate Conversations Land Differently?

Diamond, who has a background in public health, explains why leading with health, rather than abstract talk about carbon or ecosystems, tends to resonate far more with people. She also makes the case for meeting communities in spaces they already trust, from beauty salons to Black media to church events, rather than expecting people to come to climate spaces on their own.

What Can Older and Younger Generations Learn from Each Other?

Diamond and Eriqah dig into what Gen Z understands about climate urgency that older generations sometimes miss, and why intergenerational collaboration, not just youth-led or elder-led movements, is essential to building solutions that last.

Whether you’re new to climate work or have been in the movement for decades, this conversation offers a grounded, hopeful look at what it takes to build a truly inclusive climate movement in Georgia.

What You’ll Learn

• How Diamond’s early experiences shaped her decision to found Girl + Environment.
• How the organization uses culturally relevant communication to reach a largely Gen Z and millennial membership.
• Why leading with health helps climate conversations feel more urgent and personal.
• What Gen Z understands about climate that older generations can learn from, and vice versa.
• Where the climate movement has made progress, and where more accountability is still needed.
• How Georgians can get involved with Girl + Environment’s programs across the state.
• What gives Diamond Spratling hope about climate progress in Georgia.

Continue reading in our companion blog to learn more about Diamond’s perspective on climate communication, intergenerational collaboration, and how Girl + Environment is empowering women of color to lead.

Download the Interview Transcript

Prefer to read the conversation instead? Download the complete PDF transcript of this interview with Diamond Spratling to explore her insights on climate communication, culturally relevant outreach, and building durable community power.