New York City 4-H students gathered to learn about climate change and advocacy at Columbia University’s Youth Climate Summit on March 22.
Hosted by Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Futures, the Youth Climate Summit brings high school students from across New York City together to explore climate change and environmentalism and to network with students from other NYC high schools. Interactive workshops encourage students to develop public speaking and advocacy skills.
Program Liaison for the 4-H and youth development programs, Juan Carlos Espinal brought a cohort of over 40 students to the event. Espinal was connected to the summit by Hanna Chen, a former 4-Her and president of her high school’s 4-H club. Chen is now an undergraduate at Columbia University.
“I think as a young person, we can do the little every-day things, but also help advocate for the bigger things,” said 4-H participant Ameera Sajjad. “As individuals we have a responsibility to be eco-friendly in our own lives, but also hold the bigger people accountable.”
Sajjad joined 4-H last year during her first year of high school. With an interest in public policy and law, she sees advocating for better environmental policies as integral to combating climate change. She is the secretary of her 4-H club and says her leadership role with 4-H has given her invaluable experience as she looks toward college applications and a future career.
The summit included a session focused on public speaking for climate change where students learned effective communication strategies and how to engage with different audiences.
“It was helpful to learn public speaking skills,” said Olga Rozen, a third year high school student.
This year’s climate summit replaced NYC 4-H’s annual public presentation event, where each 4-Her delivers a two minute presentation to a panel of judges. The summit’s public speaking workshop was a great alternative for students still interested in developing their public speaking skills. Rozen said that 4-H’s previous public speaking presentations inspired her to start a similar event at her high school. “We want to use what we learned today and bring it back to our club,” she added.
Following the workshops, students from each high school collaborated on a climate action plan tailored to their schools. Olga and her classmates developed a plan to address lunch-time food waste that proposes the introduction of food waste bins in their cafeteria. The food waste bins encourage students to be mindful about recycling their food, and provide an alternative to general waste bins. The food waste collected in the bins can then be turned into compost–and with the help of the school’s gardening club–used as fertilizer in the outdoor garden. Rozen says she hopes the waste could also be used in the garden at a neighboring middle school.
The summit concluded with a presentation of each high school’s proposed action plan, where students and featured speakers shared ideas and feedback.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to be the ones dealing with the long-term effects [of climate change],” said Ivelys Cuenca, a third-year student.”I think it’s important for people to listen to our voices.”