Westchester Youth Climate Summit 2024

  • Location
    Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
  • Status
    Complete
  • Age Level
    14 to 18 Years
  • Project created by OonaS

The Problem

There is a lack of collaboration and communication between climate passionate youth in Westchester.

Our Plan

We have been awarded $1000 by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Climate Action Fund to create the first ever Westchester Youth Climate Summit. It will be an inspiring day of action and education with fellow students, youth activists and other leaders of the climate movement! Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from local environmental community leaders, organizers, and professionals on climate science, education, and advocacy. At the Summit, students will leave ready to accelerate change and the tools to become leaders of change working towards a more sustainable future in their schools, communities, and beyond. There will be a keynote speaker, an youth panel discussion, and a climate mitigation and adaptation workshop. There will also be an opportunity to speak with other awardees of the Bloomberg Grant, see their projects, connect with other Westchester high school students.

Themes Addressed

  • term icon
    Activism
  • term icon
    Climate Change
  • term icon
    Collaborate
  • term icon
    Community

The Benefit

  • term icon
    People
  • term icon
    Environment

Here is how the project went:

We had students from over 25 highschools across NYS join us. The summit began with keynote speaker Author Seth Godin giving an overview of the history of climate change and how we got here. There then was an inspiring panel discussion with youth student activists: Lucy Whitney from NYU of the New Roots Institute, Sofia Choudhri from Columbia University of Sunrise Columbia and Mae de Villemejane from NYU of the Sunrise NYU. Leo Bachinger of the NY Department of Environmental Conservation led students on a climate mitigation and adaptation workshop following the panel discussion. The workshop really helped students connect and brainstorm environmental projects they might want to implement. Students were very excited about their potential projects and loved connecting with other peers. To end the summit, there was an opportunity to speak with other awardees of the Bloomberg Grant, see their projects, connect with other Westchester high school students who have similar passions. Students were very excited about the three organizations that were tabling, which were Sustainable Westchester, Greenlight Awards, and Groundwork Hudson Valley. A lot students signed up to join the organizations and really wanted to get involved. Mike Bloomberg also personally wrote a letter for the summit and acknowledged our efforts.

Through this project I/we learned:

We learned that this movement is about community and unity, because no one can do it alone. One of the most powerful tools in change making is being surrounded and uplifted by others, and being reminded that you are not alone.

What I/we might change:

More opportunities for attendees to collaborate and work with one another.

My/our favorite part of this project was:

Our favorite part was fulfilling out goal of bringing people together to learn and connect and find inspiration in each other. After the summit, many attendees expressed their gratitude and excitement for meeting people with the same interests as them and finding a community that they may not have had before.

Some tips, tricks or fun facts about the project:

It may seem daunting trying to get speakers, but all we did was cold emailing. People will be much more interested in your work than you might think, so just go for it!

About Roots & Shoots

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