County students attend Adirondack Youth Climate Summit at Wild Center
St. Lawrence County high school students, educators, administrators and facilities staff met recently at The Wild Center to formulate an energy and carbon reduction plan.
Representatives from Canton High School, Clarkson University, Clifton-Fine Central School, Heuvelton Central School, Madrid-Waddington Central School, Morristown Central School, Ogdensburg Free Academy, Potsdam High School, St. Lawrence University, SUNY Potsdam and Chateaugay Central School attended the first Adirondack Youth Climate Summit held at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake on November 9 and 10.
The teams joined 17 other high schools and colleges from across the Adirondacks to discuss real solutions to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions and support the local economy by keeping some of the billions of dollars sent abroad for energy costs here in the Adirondacks.
Team members from St. Lawrence County included:
• Canton High School: Kaitlin Lawrence, Kayt Pearson, Nicole Potter and Tom Van de Water
• Clifton-Fine Central School: Caren Donovan, Everett Dowling, Jon McCargar, Tim Redmond, Susan Shene and Samantha Silsby
• Madrid-Waddington Central School: Norm Cote, Emily Hargrave, Dylan Jock, Connor Loomis, Kyle McGrath, Lynn Roy and Mark Ruddy
• Heuvelton Central School: Matt Ferris, Nancy Putman, Sara Sloan, Danielle Tani, Lindsay Tennant and Greg Zimmer
• Morristown Central School: Nicholas Kuca, Logan Meyer, Dillon Morehouse, Brad Paradis, Mary Rascoe and Bill Van Vleet
• Ogdensburg Free Academy: Kaitlin Flack, Brittany French, Amber Henry, Mary Lawrence and Sierra Sellers.
• Potsdam High School: Jim Allott, Bob Brothers, Danielle Foisy, Nick Leuthauser, TJ Rimmer and Dave Sipher.
• Clarkson University: Ryan Hurilla, Kevin Lynch, Alan Rossner, Sawyer Sutton, Kim Villemaire, Ray Wilson and Colin Yarbrough.
• St. Lawrence University: Jordan Garfinkle, Louise Gava, Brandon Kenny, Amanda Lavigne and Ben Ross.
• SUNY Potsdam: Bianca Dygert, Gregg Freeman, Eric Hibbard, Hayley Kopelson, Kaci Milligan and Stacy Rosenberg.
The first day focused on the most current data on climate change impacts on the planet, the United States, the Northeast and the Adirondacks. The Summit brought together a panel of experts in the growing climate economy business answering questions about what jobs are out there, what kind of training is available, and what jobs are likely to be coming to the Adirondacks.
Capturing the benefits of the climate economy for the region could help young people make decisions about returning to the region. According to the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages’ Adirondack Park Regional Assessment Project the Adirondacks are one of the most rapidly aging regions in the nation, reflecting an exodus of younger residents.
In break-out sessions, teams were given the tools and information to create their own energy and carbon reduction plan. Members of each team attended sessions on Energy Efficiency, Recycling and Waste Management, School & Local Food production, Transportation and Energy Education in Public Schools. Teams applied what they learned and created their own carbon reduction plan.
“It was inspiring to see so many people motivated and eager to actually do something and not just talk about it”, said Jen Kretser, director of programs at The Wild Center. “The actions that the teams recommended mean so much more since students decided upon them with faculty and administrators and they’re achievable. They also now have a network of other schools who they can reach out to if they ever stumble. We’re all in this together and we can really make a difference.”
Presenters at the Summit included Jerry Jenkins, an ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and leading researcher into the effects of climate change on the Adirondacks; Donald Fudge, a consultant with Energy Smart Schools and project manager with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); John D. Songer, Plant Engineer with the Rochester City School District responsible for saving over $620,000 in the past seven years through green initiatives and Cynthia Thomashow, former director of the Environmental Education Masters program at Antioch New England Graduate School, member of the Formal Education Committee of the US Green Building Council and an adjunct professor at Unity College in Maine.
Follow-up Adirondack Youth Climate Summits are scheduled for 2010 and 2011 to monitor the success of each climate action plan and offer the opportunity for additional Adirondack schools to participate.
The Adirondack Youth Climate Summit is using Facebook and Twitter to build an online community to share ideas. To become a Fan on Facebook go to ‘Adirondack Youth Climate Summit’ and follow on Twitter – ADKYouthSummit.
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