A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting with youth leaders from Madison so they could tell me about their climate resiliency projects, which are funded through the Youth Climate Action Program. There are so many talented young people in our community, and I am always eager to support their development as leaders. We met at the Catholic Multicultural Center, an organization committed to sustainability and community service. One of their staff, Antonio, told us about the rain garden they installed next to the building and about the work they do to provide services in Madison.

These Youth Climate Action projects are creative and impactful. The Sanchez Scholars have developed an initiative to promote tree canopy cover by reaching out to neighborhoods and families about the virtues of trees, providing tree planting kits and instructions to families interested in planting them, and generally promoting community awareness about the ability of trees to make the environment healthier. I let them know that they could count on the City to support their project, and shared a bit about the great work our Urban Forestry team is doing. I was happy to see their confidence grow as they told me more details about their project.

Image credit: Sanchez Scholars Grace Paz-Ponce (graduating senior from La Follete High School), Ashley Juarez (rising senior from Vel Phillips Memorial High School), myself, and Jhonny Mejía (graduating senior from La Follete High School)

The Madison Metropolitan (WI) Chapter of The Links, Inc. is promoting mentorship from individuals in STEM fields related to sustainability and promoting Black women’s wellness alongside climate resiliency. They described how convening a gardening event would help connect them to nature and learn more about how to promote nature through gardens of any size. I was particularly delighted to not only meet the older and accomplished youth leaders, but also to meet one of their younger siblings!

Image credit: Diarra Sarr (rising junior at Madison East High School), Aubrey Thompson, myself, and Mekhi Thompson (currently 8th grade at Sherman Middle School).

PlanetPatch is working on a project to help youth understand climate resiliency from both an ecosystem and energy standpoint through technology. They want to teach people how to plant raingardens and share the importance of native plants in increasing flood resilience. This is very aligned with the City’s rain garden initiative. They are also designing an app to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy by giving people information about where their energy comes from, how much climate pollution is produces, and how to reduce energy use.

Image credit: Aakash Paneru (rising senior at UW-Madison), myself, Pranab Adhikari (rising senior at UW-Madison), and Pallav Regmi

It was great to meet these wonderful young people and hear about their projects. We have so much talent in our community. It was also wonderful to meet the parents and mentors that work with these youth leaders to help them reach their potential. We had a great time and I hope some of the projects invite me to their first tree and garden plantings.