Youth Climate Summit

Student-Led Booths (5th-8th Grade):

• Renewable Energy: A 7th- and 8th-grader are together working with the Garrison community and local organizations to learn about barriers for Renewable Energy installation. Their booth will provide free consultations for the public to explore installation in their homes and community solar (those who can't have solar on their homes but can buy it through the grid).

• Political Action: an 8th-grader is writing to local legislators (and providing a template for others to do the same) to curb point-source pollution into the Hudson River.

• Water Conservation: an 8th-grader started a fundraiser to buy water conservation kits like this that minimize over-consumption of water through showerheads and faucets. She'll buy these tools and supply them to evening event attendants for free, to promote water conservation in the home.

• Composting: a 6th-grader started a composting program in her neighborhood and is partnering with Philipstown Food Scraps at her booth to show locals what composting looks like in the region and to sign them up for it themselves.

• Food Deserts: a 5th-grader and two 8th-graders are sharing a booth on environmental justice related to food deserts. They've held multiple food drives to deliver food to local food banks and are using their booth to educate the public on the issue, as well as collect additional food to be donated.

• Animal Cruelty: two 8th-graders are working together, volunteering at an animal shelter and sharing their experiences and research on kill shelters with the public, as well as what the public can do to prevent animal cruelty.

• Preventing Bird Collisions with Windows: a 7th-grader started a GoFundMe to buy bird dots for windows for both residential and commercial use. She's using her booth to raise awareness about why bird collisions are an issue and to provide the public with free dots to use at their homes and in their businesses.

• Plastic Straw Waste: a 7th-grader started a campaign to replace all plastic straws with metal straws at local restaurants. She has a GoFundMe to make this change a reality and will use this space to spread awareness of plastic straw use, waste, and their carbon footprint.

• Pollution: a 7th-grade student is organizing a community clean-up day for Saturday, May 11th (Mother Earth Day Clean-Up, right before Mother's Day) and sharing her results at the Summit to promote a cleaner Earth for us all to share.

  • Pollution and Art: an 8th-grader is using the trash collected from this event to make art, which she'll display at the Summit, then hopefully at the Garrison Art Center.

• Heat Loss/Energy Efficiency: a 5th-grader created a fundraiser to purchase electrical outlet insulators so she can give them away for free to the public while raising awareness about why heat loss is a monetary and climate-change related issue and what people can do to prevent it.

• Soft Plastic Recycling: a 5th-grader has started a soft plastic recycling program in our district and is using her voice at the evening event to educate the public on what soft plastic is, why it matters, and how others can get involved with soft plastic recycling at their local grocery stores.

• Sustainable Fashion: a 5th-grade student is hosting a clothing drive to support sustainable consumption. She's collecting clothes from the 19 participating school districts and giving them away for free in a "swap" or sorts, then donating all extras to the Hand Me Down Project. She'll even be modeling some clothes with friends in a fashion show at the event!

• Air Pollution: two 8th-graders built a self-contained installation using living moss they grew themselves to purify the air and sequester Carbon. They're using their booth to educate the public on air pollution, how to prevent it, and what people can do to stay safe.