Six Woodstock students had the great opportunity to attend the Youth Environmental Summit (YES) held at the Barre Auditorium. Students from all over the state assembled to learn, speak, and inspire others about the issues of today’s world. The day’s message was clear: “Climate change is happening, it’s the most serious challenge our planet faces, but if we work together, we can meet that challenge.” Students were given opportunities to speak to their peers about steps of action they implemented in their school and community.
The key note speakers were not only informative with issues and solutions but also passionate. After exploring the captivating booths with interesting facts and opportunities, we enjoyed our first workshop. These focus groups concentrated on topics ranging from the pros and cons of specific composting systems, to knowing how to get others in our school and community as excited about our environmental initiatives as we are! There were even workshops to train us how to make our school group more efficient and attractive to prospective members. There were also many opportunities for outreach. Earth Beat members learned that Vermont has over 100 town energy committees that are willing to help our school group. We now have a network of contacts that we can use in the future to support our projects.
By the end of our exhausting day, Earth Beat members were full of new ideas and bursting with excitement. Our experience at YES was educational and informative, but more importantly, it was inspiring. We’ve always had enthusiasm for our cause, but now we have the tools, the support system and the empowerment to carry out the two largest projects our group has ever taken on. By seeing what amazing things other student environmental groups have accomplished, we learned that we have the responsibility and power to make a real difference in our school and community.
- Abby Kaija and Elizabeth Kamb
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