AMC’s First Youth Climate Summit

On April 10th, more than 120 high school students from across northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine gathered at the Highland Center for the Appalachian Mountain Club’s inaugural Youth Climate Summit. The event included a professional panel, 18 hands-on workshops, and a closing keynote from Dr. Elizabeth Burakowski, a Research Faculty member in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Student panelist and junior at North Conway’s Kennett High School, Calla Battenfelder, shared her reflection of the event:

After attending the AMC Youth Climate Ready Jobs Workshop on Friday, I realized that there are endless opportunities for me to work in the environment right in my own community. Being on the opening panel allowed me to share with everyone my efforts within the Environmental Action Club and show other kids that they can get involved, too.

The field trip turned into an eye-opening experience on the amount of support in the Mount Washington Valley. Throughout the different sessions and the table fair, my group and I got to do soil testing and climate scenarios while learning about the environmental impacts of our actions and how each organization is striving to aid different problems, but together they all overlap with the same mission of reducing climate change.

We were amazed at how many organizations want help and how many people are passionate about helping the world. The AMC opened up chances to intern and develop my ideas with specialists. The other kids in my group also felt the same; they loved being able to sign up for newsletters and thought that the keynote speech at the end was inspirational.

We learned how impactful the factors impacting climate change are individually and all together. We realized the importance of educating youth voices and how influential we, as the coming generation, can be in the future of climate change.