About a month and a half before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, a student group is hosting its own rally about climate change.

Students for Environmental Concerns will be holding the rally from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Anniversary Plaza outside of the Illini Union, Saturday.

In addition to the rally, the group is also working on a number of other projects relating to climate change and environmental issues including recycling, composting and weatherization.

The group will hold the rally Saturday because it has been declared the International Day of Climate Action by 350.org, a group devoted to raising awareness about climate change. The organization draws its name from the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air that is considered safe – 350 parts per million.

"We want to get people excited about these local initiatives. It's an international issue but we address it every day in our lives in our consumption of energy," said Matt Rundquist, campaign manager for Students for Environmental Concerns.

The rally will have music and three guest speakers, including Illinois State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, (D-103), Eric Snodgrass, an instructor in the department of atmospheric sciences and Parker Laubach, a graduate student with Engineers Without Borders.

Jakobsson will be speaking about the state's movement toward using wind energy, Rundquist said, while Snodgrass will speak about the general theories behind climate change.

Group members said Snodgrass is accessible and focuses on the facts behind climate change.

Laubach will be speaking against the opening of a new coal plant in Taylorville, Ill. He will also be encouraging people to support the idea of bringing a wind turbine to Champaign-Urbana.

The wind turbine was a project that Students for Environmental Concerns supported last year. It was funded by the University and a grant until funds fell through due to budget cuts.

The group plans to pursue this project again this year and ask for donations from students, faculty and alumni who are interested in environmental issues, Rundquist said.

While the group is seeking funding for the wind turbine project, it generally does not need very much money to function as an organization. Rundquist said they have spent about $3 so far this year.

"It really speaks to how grassroots this is, we don't have a lot of funding. We've done it through word of mouth and excitement," said Abby Toms, vice president of the group and senior in LAS.

Aside from the rally and the wind turbine, Students for Environmental Concerns has a few other projects lined up for the semester.

Composting has been a goal for the group for some time now and has become a reality now that the group has access to a car.

"Transportation was a main issue," said Anthony Larson, president of the organization, and senior in LAS.

"It's just so exciting that we're finally getting to start it," Toms said.

The group will be collecting compost from the dining halls three times a week themselves and taking it to the South Farms in the near future.

In addition to its own projects, the student group is most interested in how talks about climate change will go at the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen later this year.

"I think SECS is looking to raise awareness about Copenhagen and then as a platform for us to relaunch the campaign for the wind turbine," Larson said.

Students for Environmental Concerns is most interested in getting information about these environmental concerns out to the community.

"I don't treat it as a political issue," Rundquist said. "I'm an environmental science major. I treat it as a job."