Climate Leaders Fellowship Cohort Six Portfolio

Lucy Adams

JFHS: Time to Go Green

Hello! My name is Lucy Adams. I’m 17 years old and live in Forest, Virginia. I’m passionate about staying active, whether it’s on the basketball court, in the gym weightlifting, or getting lost in a good book. Recently, I embarked on a project through the Climate Leaders Fellowship to address the lack of accessible recycling options at my school, driven by my commitment to making our campus more environmentally friendly.

In this article, I’ll share the background of my project, the steps I took to implement it, and the impact it has made on my school community.

Project Background & Overview

What specific problem were you addressing in your community?

My school did not have any recycling bins except for one. It was not accessible because it was in the hallway with the least traffic.

Why does that problem matter to you personally?

I go to a school with 1200 students. Along with that my school sells various drinks that are canned and bottled. This means many of the bottles and cans are getting thrown away and I want to improve our school by implementing recycling. This is important to me because I care for the environment and I want my school to be green.

Project Execution

What did you do for your project?

I got recycling bins that had two cubicles. One side was for plastic and the other was for aluminum. I placed them in the commons area of my school and the cafeteria. Along with the bins, I made posters to promote recycling and educate the students on how to separate trash and recycling.

What actions did you take to address the problem?

To address the issues at my school, I talked to my environmental science teacher and the principal at my school to propose a solution to the amount of recyclables that are getting thrown away. To address the problems toward the students, I used social media and posters above the new recycling bins.

Where and how did you implement your project?

I implemented the bins in the common area and cafeteria at my school. I got permission from my principal and then went to my local Lions Club to ask for some money to help my project. They granted me 500 dollars to buy two durable bins for the school.

Who were your target audiences and how did you engage them?

I engaged my fellow students through social media and large posters above the new recycling bins.

Impact

What types of contributions did you collect?

I got about 15 volunteer hours through this project. My local Lions Club funded the money to buy the bins I needed. At my school, I printed the posters and labels for the bins. I also laminated them at my school.

What were the results?

Since my project was implemented at the end of the year I was only able to weigh the plastic and aluminum once. However, we collected 6 lbs of plastic and 3 lbs of aluminum after one week of the bins being out for students to use.

Which organizations or mentors did you work with?

I worked with Theresa Price, my AP Environmental teacher, and the Forest, Virginia Lions Club.

How did these organizations or mentor partnerships help your project succeed?

Mrs. Price fronted the money and helped order my bins. She let me work on my project in my free time in her class. Mrs. Price also researched all the local landfill and recycling information in my town. She also helped me talk to the Lions Club because she is a member. The Lions Club gave me their time and money to contribute to my project.

Personal Reflection

How did participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship make you feel?

I feel like I have helped my community and made an impact that will be long-lasting. I feel like a leader in my school while I did my project.

What are you most proud of regarding your project?

I am proud of the impact after only one week of the bins being implemented.

Tips for Others

What are your top tips for someone else who wants to do a project like yours?

• Take your time to research and brainstorm all of the ideas in your brain
• Construct a proposal to whoever you need to talk to about your project
• Work on your project outside of the meeting
• Find trusted adults in your community to help you reach out to organizations

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Teaching Kids About Plastic Usage in Jackson, Mississippi

Hi! Our names are Verena and Patricia. We are both 17 and live in Ridgeland, Mississippi. We are both passionate about creating solutions for climate change and doing our part to help our community. Both of us enjoy learning about science and research, and we also love to create art. 

Project Background & Overview

Verena and Patricia working with children during their project.

There were two problems we wanted to address. Firstly, in our community, recycling is not always an option. Thus, we wanted to help people learn about how they can make a difference in other ways, such as by reducing and reusing. Secondly, we noticed that climate action is not often taught to young kids. Young kids will shape the future one day, which is why we wanted to reach out to them. We shaped our project to address both of these issues, and we created a project to teach young kids about reducing and reusing.

Project Execution

Children engaging in the Earth Day activity organized by Verena and Patricia.

Our goal was to teach kids about limiting their plastic usage through reducing and reusing. We partnered with a local non-profit that provides after school programs for kids, and we arranged for our project to take place on Earth Day. Our target audience was Kindergarten through 3rd graders, so we created a presentation and activity that was tailored for this age group. Our presentation mostly consisted of pictures, and our activity included letting kids color their own reusable bags to celebrate Earth day. We aimed to have something fun that would keep the kids’ attention for some time. 

Impact

Final products of the children’s reusable bags decorated during the project.

We worked with Operation Shoestring, an organization located in Jackson, Mississippi that provides after-school programs to underserved families in the Jackson area. Operation Shoestring provided us the opportunity to share our presentation and activity with a group of students. We ended up having over 30 kids participate in our activity. Despite our initial worries, the kids enjoyed and engaged with the activity, and the activity lasted for nearly an hour. 

Personal Reflection

Participating in Climate Leaders Fellowship provided us with a group of peers who are also interested in making an impact in the world. These peers gave us their support and feedback whenever we were stuck. Hearing about their projects also inspired us and gave us ideas for what we could do in our own community. Participating in Climate Leaders Fellowship motivated us to want to continue to design and implement projects in our community. We also want to continue the project that we started this spring and keep working with Operation Shoestring to give presentations about the Earth and environment. 

Tips for Others

Our tips for others who want to make a difference in their community:

1. Identify the issue that matters most to you.
   • For us, we are passionate about teaching others about climate change.
2. Ask for help and collaborate with others.
   • Work with organizations and clubs, and ask peers for advice when stuck. 
   • Climate Leaders Fellowship is a great place to find like-minded people who can help you.
3. Get out of your comfort zone.
   • Challenge yourself so that you can grow as a leader.
   • For us, we had to give a presentation which helped us grow our communication skills.
4. Don’t be afraid to reach out.
   • There are a lot of people out there who want your help!
   • For us, we wanted to do a project outside our school, so we reached out to Operation Shoestring and were happy to learn that they were excited to have us complete our project with them. 
5. Inspire others to take action.
   • Inspiring others can help you have a greater impact. 
   • Our project was focused on climate change education, as we hoped to inspire others to care about our environment and take action.
6. Enjoy the experience!
   • Have fun and be passionate about your project. 
   • If you enjoy your project, then so will others.

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Nadia Cantelli

Clean Up for Climate Change

My name is Nadia Star Cantelli. I live in Milan, Ohio in the United States. I am 18 years old and I am a 2024 graduate of Edison High School. Outside of school, I am a musician. I play guitar, sing, and percussion (I’m learning bass!). I am currently working at pursuing a full-time music career both gigging and through social media with covers and original songs!I live very close to Lake Erie. Living near a coastal town is amazing, however tourists sometimes tend to not respect that land as much as those of us who live there. Even some full-time residents also fail to respect their own land. Our beaches are something that are in need of constant care. The city does a very good job at keeping them nice, however, I wanted to do a trash pickup to help give it an extra boost. This project is very important to me as I have enjoyed many of my neighboring city’s beaches for as long as I can remember. I also love to visit other beaches when traveling, I want people to feel the same way when they visit Ohio.

Project Overview & Execution

For my project I did a trash cleanup at Nickel Plate beach located in Huron, Ohio. During the 2023-2024 school year, I was the Co-President of Edison High School’s Interact Club. Interact clubs bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of Service Above Self. Members can find out how serious leadership can be seriously fun. Interact clubs organize at least two projects every year, one that helps their school or community and one that promotes international understanding.

One of our Interact Club’s many service projects this year was to assist me in cleaning up Nickel Plate Beach. Ten of my fellow Interact Club members as well as our advisor and her husband all assisted in aiding me in cleaning the beach. So I would like to give a shout out to Sam McClester, Victoria Metz, Andrew Gray, Trevor Leimeister, Gabby Mesenberg, Elena Moore, Ethan Moore, Lily Risner, Avery Rutherford, Peyton Taylor, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Roan. We ended up collecting over 12 bags of trash 2 of which were completely recyclable. After the completion of the day everyone earned two service hours as well as a much-deserved trip to our local ice cream stand.

Impact

Targeting an audience actually came after the conclusion of my project. As we executed our project Mr. Roan (@jonroanphoto) documented our day through film and video. After which a classmate of mine, Tyler Pounds (@tylerpoundstudios) edited an amazing video. This video was shared through Facebook, Instagram, my school website, and various other platforms to show people how much trash we actually collected. I hope that this will inspire others to complete a beach cleanup or for Edison to make this project an annual event with Interact Club. With the contemporary spin of a video and the faces of local students people recognized I was even featured in the local newspaper, as now audiences were captivated.

Personal Reflection

Participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship allowed me to realize that there are other people my age that care about the environment and are willing to take the necessary steps to help save it. Being part of an organization larger than yourself allows you to make new friends that share common interests which is awesome! The things I am most proud of after completing my project is the support I received from my family, friends, classmates, teachers, and community. I was so honored at how interested everyone was in my project. It was amazing that everyone not only wanted to see me succeed, but they wanted to help me do so!

Advice for Others

For anyone interested in completing a beach cleanup do not get overwhelmed! It is a very do-able project! First, select which beach you would like to clean. Second, make sure to contact city officials such as parks and recreation, this can typically be done through email or the phone as contact information is often listed online. Once you get permission to clean up the beach make sure to ask where trash and recycle bins are located. After you make a set plan, the best next step is to get a group to back you. You are more efficient when you have more people! Reach out to a school or community group to see if they would be interested in aiding you in your project! Especially for school groups, service hours tend to be a great motivator! Now after you have completed your project, share your results! This can show people that your project had an impact and may inspire others in the future to complete something similar!

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San Francisco Teen Partners with Refuse Refuse to Organize a Clean-up

Hello, my name is Alan Chen, I’m currently 15, a rising sophomore in high school at San Francisco. I’m inspired and passionate about making positive environmental impacts in my community. To demonstrate my passion for the environment, I decided to join Climate Leaders Fellowship to bring my passion to the next level. During my freshman year, I drove out of my comfort zone to help organize a clean-up. 

Background Information

From transportation to school, supermarkets for groceries, friends’ house, etc. There was a high chance where I would encounter litter stuck in bushes, on sides of the streets, and sidewalks. The realization of litter making its way to the ocean and rivers which affects other animals hurts. Every piece of trash gives me the urge to organize a clean-up event. Therefore, I started to seek out programs that set students up for success, where I later discovered the Climate Leaders Fellowship, one of the most crucial and vital parts of my project’s success.

I took the initiative to email numerous organizations who were in support of the environment to potentially help organize a clean-up event. After months of researching organizations, I was able to connect with Refuse Refuse. The organization removed 50,542 13-gal bags with 2,752 cleanups organized as of June 18, 2024.  

Project Execution 

Trash bags collected during the cleanup event.

After partnering with Refuse Refuse, I worked with a kind and helpful volunteer captain who’s in charge of Lakeside Village’s cleanup. I helped promote and encourage students and friends from my high school to take part. To execute this plan, I reached out to my school counselor who was willing to give me a hand. With the help of my counselor, I was able to get the cleanup’s flyer to be projected on the school’s announcements reaching a wide range of audience. There was also an email sent to ALL of the students at my school in case people missed the announcement.

Impact

With all the support, Lakeside Village and I were able to reach 17 kind volunteers. The team collected 12 bags of trash full of cigarettes, wrappers from snacks, plastic bottles, an umbrella, cups, so much more! 

Personal Reflection

Such an accomplishment wouldn’t be possible without the help of Refuse Refuse and Climate Leaders Fellowship. Refuse Refuse provided me with the necessary materials such as flyers, trash pickers, garbage bags, location, and so much more. Climate Leaders Fellowship offered amazing support from other students nationwide, student facilitators, and the director who was always available to answer my questions and provide advice. I’m proud and extremely grateful to have these two amazing programs by my side to help and support me throughout my project. I’m looking forward to establishing more environmentally-friendly projects in the upcoming year!

Tips

• Join Climate Leaders Fellowship, they offer unlimited support and amazing advice from students, student facilitators, and directors 
• Partner with a local organization, organizations will provide you with the supplies and an available location to meet at
• Reach out to your school counselor to better spread the word, because they have access to the announcements and other students’ emails
• Never give up when you are researching for partnership with organization, because there will be organizations that are willing to help you
• Don’t get influenced by others’ success story, everybody goes their own path and pace 

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Connecticut Teen Holds Clothing Drive to Combat Textile Waste Issue

My name is Winnie Chen. I am 16 and currently a junior at Norwich Free Academy in Connecticut. Besides participating in clubs and activities at school, I also love to travel! I love going to the beach, reading, photography, and art.

Targeting the Textile Waste Issue

From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to target the issue of textile waste in my community. I love fashion and clothes, but the waste from fast fashion trends and the constant outgrowth of clothes have always made me feel like there should be more done to prevent and combat the impacts of all the textiles thrown into landfills and other places that are worsening the climate crisis.

In Connecticut alone, textile waste makes up 10% of landfills which is equivalent to 81 pounds of textiles per person every year.

Taking Action in my Community

For my Fellowship project, I initiated and held a clothing drive at my high school to reduce the amount of clothing and accessories being thrown into CT’s landfills. I’m lucky to attend a school where there were people willing to help throughout the entirety of the project. After meeting with some teachers and getting permission, I was able to set up bins in each one of our campus’s house offices. Getting promotion ready and accessible to the entire school was probably the hardest part of the entire project since my high school has a pretty large amount of people. I made posters, created a survey, and filmed a short video that was played to the school to both educate people on the issue and promote the drive.

Impact

The clothing drive was able to collect over 850 wearable items! The clothes were then donated to either Safe Futures– an organization based in southeastern Connecticut that serves those who are impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment– or Apparel Impact, an organization whose mission is to reduce local landfill waste while providing jobs, ending local poverty, and creating differences in communities.

Reflection

The Climate Leaders Fellowship was the final little push I needed to take action in my community. It has opened up a new world of opportunities and has taught me that no matter where you are or who you are, you can create change.

The guidance and support from other Fellows and the Fellowship played a major role in the success of my project. I feel the closest I have ever been to my community, and the connections I have made throughout the entire process are so special to me. The possibilities are only endless from here.

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The ReBottle Project: Reducing Plastic Waste in Our School and Community

Hi, this is Grace and Jessie, and we are writing together to share our project. We are international students from South Korea attending high school in Texas. Grace is 16 years old and Jessie is 17 years old. Both of us are passionate about environmental sustainability and community service.

Project Background & Overview

When Jessie first came to the United States in her freshman year, she noticed the lack of recycling practices compared to her home country, South Korea. Dividing trash into separate materials is standard practice there, but this was not observed in our local community in Texas. Grace experienced a similar situation after moving from South Korea, where stringent recycling policies are enforced.

For Grace, the impact of plastic pollution became evident during her middle school years in South Korea. She participated in several community clean-up projects and witnessed the overwhelming amount of plastic waste littering beaches and parks. This firsthand experience fueled her passion for finding sustainable solutions to plastic waste.

The problem of ineffective plastic recycling is significant: estimates show that only 9 percent of plastic waste is effectively recycled (Plastic Pollution Is Growing Relentlessly as Waste Management and Recycling Fall Short, Says OECD, 2022). This issue matters to us personally because we have seen how proper recycling can positively impact the environment, and we wanted to bring this change to our new home.

Project Execution

To address this problem, we joined the Climate Leaders Fellowship and launched the ReBottle Project at our school. Our project aimed to reduce plastic waste by encouraging the use of reusable bottles. We targeted a key source of plastic consumption: cafes. Our mission was to reduce the use of plastic cups by motivating students, teachers, and parents to bring reusable bottles for their drinks.

To shift consumer behavior, we proposed a cabin drink discount policy. Customers would receive a 25 percent discount on any drink if they brought a reusable bottle or mug. Mrs. Gragg, the cabin manager at our school, supported our proposal, offering a 25 percent discount for the first two weeks of April and a 10 percent discount afterward.

Impact

When the discount system began, people barely participated. But as time went on, we observed more people bringing their tumblers to the cabin after school. They realized that such a simple task as bringing your bottle can help save the environment. Our ultimate aim is to increase awareness about sustainability so that people can make environmentally conscious choices of their own accord. The discount system is just a means to promote sustainability and to raise awareness that individuals can contribute to combating climate change by simply using their tumblers instead of relying on single-use plastic cups.

To track our impact, we created a large tracker board displayed at the cabin. Each time someone used a reusable bottle, they placed a sticker on the board, allowing everyone to see our progress in reducing plastic cup usage. Additionally, we designed an infographic showing the decomposition timeline of plastic cups, highlighting the long-term environmental consequences of single-use plastics.

Our efforts paid off: in the first two weeks, we observed a 30 percent reduction in plastic cup usage, with many students and staff members actively participating. The visual tracker and infographics were effective in raising awareness and engaging our community. We also received positive feedback from participants, who appreciated the initiative and felt motivated to continue using reusable bottles.

Future Plans

Our next step is to implement the ReBottle Project in the cafes within our local area. By participating in the ReBottle Project, cafes can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and help reduce the unnecessary use of plastic cups. This project can only be successful through consumers’ voluntary adoption of sustainable behavior. As we embark on this journey, we hope to see a significant reduction in the use of single-use plastic cups while also facilitating a culture of environmental stewardship and responsibility.

Personal Reflection

Participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship was a rewarding experience. We were inspired by other members of the cohort, who shared their projects and provided valuable feedback. The fellowship gave us a platform to make a tangible impact and instilled a sense of accomplishment. We are most proud of how our project brought our school community together to work towards a common goal of sustainability.

Before we end, we would like to thank the Climate Leaders Fellowship for supporting our project. The encouragement and feedback we got from fellows from all over the world were meaningful to us. Getting updated on others’ project progress also motivated us, and we were glad to have an opportunity to work with people with the same mind. We are honored to be part of the Climate Leaders Fellowship and look forward to meeting new fellows in the next cycle!

Tips for Others

For anyone looking to start a project like ours, here are our top tips:

1. Identify a specific problem in your community that you are passionate about.
2. Start with small, achievable goals to build momentum.
3. Engage your target audience with incentives and clear communication.
4. Use visual aids to track progress and raise awareness.
5. Partner with supportive individuals or organizations.
6. Collect and analyze data to measure your impact.
7. Be persistent and adaptable to overcome challenges.
8. Share your successes and learnings to inspire others.

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Indira Fair

Inspiring Change Through Conversation: Organizing Climate Change Conversation in Vancouver

Hi, my name is Indira Fair, and I’m from Vancouver, British Columbia! I’m fifteen and interested in environmental studies, sustainability, and benefiting my community through projects with the support of the Climate Leaders Fellowship. I also love cheerleading, being outdoors, and exploring the world.
Through two cycles of the fellowship, my goal has been to educate, spread awareness, and inspire effective conversations about climate change that motivate action.I’ve noticed that in my community and worldwide, there are often many negative conversations surrounding climate change that leave audiences feeling powerless and hopeless for the future. So, I wanted to change that!

Project Overview & Execution

For my project, I organized a climate change conversation featuring former Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Stewart J. Cohen. The event took place at my school and was open to students and staff. Stewart’s presentation focused on engaging in constructive conversations about climate change, the local impacts we face, and actionable steps we can take. Implementing my project took a lot of planning and teamwork, including Zoom calls with Stewart, coordinating with my school’s administration, and working alongside other fellows.

Results

In total, over thirty people participated in this conversation, and I received a lot of positive feedback. Stewart not only contributed valuable insights as a speaker but also served as an incredible mentor throughout the process and helped my project succeed by sharing his insights in our conversation. He continues to share his expertise and updates on climate change through his blog, Doctor Climate Change.

Personal Reflection

I collaborated closely with another fellow from my school, Emily Jekubik, to bring this project to life. My experience in the Climate Leaders Fellowship has been truly rewarding. Completing two cycles has deepened my understanding of local and global issues and connected me with like-minded students from around the world who are equally inspired to create change in our communities. As an ambassador for the fellowship, I’ve engaged more students in this initiative and aim to become a student facilitator. Additionally, I hope to start a club at my school where fellowship participants can collaborate and support each other.

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Avery Frankel

Kick It Forward: Upcycling Sports Gear for Sustainable Impact in Kenya

My name is Avery Frankel, I’m sixteen years old, and I live just outside of Los Angeles, California. I love a lot of things – cooking, traveling with my family, sunsets at the beach, my dog Finn, anything science-related, wakesurfing, and spending time with friends – but my two favorite interests (and the ones that influenced my project most) are soccer and service.

Project Background & Overview

I focused my project on addressing a very prevalent issue in my community: prematurely disposing of slightly-used clothing. Fast fashion, a large population of children that outgrow clothes very quickly, and local youth sports programs that provide jerseys to be worn for just a single season all contribute to a culture of frequently throwing out items that remain in good condition. This problem matters to me personally because I recognize that there are many people in the world who don’t have access to the abundance of resources that we do in my community, so it’s really frustrating to see valuable materials being wasted.

Project Execution and Impact

I directed my project towards a community in Kenya called Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA). KGSA is a nonprofit organization that offers housing, academic opportunities, and athletics to over one hundred fifty girls that live in the slums of Nairobi. I also worked through my own nonprofit, Kick It Forward Foundation, which I founded in June 2023. I addressed the issue of throwing away clothing by creating an upcycling program to eventually donate to KGSA (whose girls were in need of athletic wear for their soccer team). By reaching out to friends, family, my school, and a local soccer club, I ran multiple drives with the goal of collecting gently-used sports gear that would’ve otherwise been disposed of. After collecting hundreds of articles of clothing, shoes, cleats, socks, shin guards, and soccer balls, I organized the donations and supplemented equipment as needed. When the day finally came to travel to Kenya for the service mission, my family and I transported five large duffel bags to KGSA (nearly 200 pounds), where we spent time touring the campus, speaking with the directors, and meeting the girls. Following the introductions, we went to the field with about sixty of the students and hosted soccer trainings and scrimmages; we had an amazing time distributing the donations to the girls too; they were incredibly appreciative and I’m so grateful for the friendships and memories I made there.

Personal Reflection

The Climate Leaders Fellowship was a fantastic experience that taught me how to recognize and analyze issues in my community and then take initiative to reduce those harmful problems. I learned to collaborate more effectively with both peers and adults, give and receive constructive feedback, organize large events, market and fundraise in my community, and generally accomplish my goals with time and effort.

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Dumitru Frunză

From Scraps to Soil: Dumitru Frunză Transforms School Food Waste into Compost with DIY Worm Towers

Hello! My name is Dumitru Frunză, and I’m 17 years old, living in Chişinău, Republic of Moldova. As a rising senior at “Orizont” Theoretical Lyceum, I am deeply passionate about climate advocacy, social justice, global affairs, and dancing. Recently, I channeled these interests into a project aimed at addressing food waste at my school, driven by my commitment to creating a more sustainable environment for my community.

Project Background & Overview:

What specific problem were you addressing in your community?

I was addressing the problem of food waste in the school cafeteria by turning organic material into compost with the use of a 3-bucket worm tower.

Why does that problem matter to you personally?

I noticed the amount of food that was inevitably wasted and I couldn’t just sit and do nothing about it.

Project Execution:

What did you do for your project?

I created a 3-bucket worm tower DIY composting system.

What actions did you take to address the problem?

I collaborated with my school’s biology department to make the project circular. They suggested that the compost created should be used in the school’s garden where some vegetables are grown so that their food scraps will be used for making compost later.

Where and how did you implement your project?

At an international science fair hosted by my school.

Who were your target audiences and how did you engage them?

Middle school and high school students were my target (8th-12th graders), and I engaged them by explaining what composting is and its basics. Many of them hadn’t even heard of composting before, and the ones that had heard about it weren’t at all familiar with any of the processes, so I was happy to navigate them through everything that was happening in my composting system, as well as to explain the scalability of the project.

Impact:

What types of contributions did you collect?

20 volunteer hours

What were the results?

Recognition at the international FirSTep Science Fair.

Which organizations or mentors did you work with?

Mentor: Armand Guçe

How did your mentor  help your project succeed?

Mr. Armand is my biology teacher as well as the head of my school’s biology department. He guided me through the whole process.

Personal Reflection:

How did participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship make you feel?

It made me feel great, knowing it was a worthwhile experience.

What are you most proud of regarding your project?

Managing to spread awareness about food waste and to educate my peers about composting.

Tips for Others:

What are your top tips for someone else who wants to do a project like yours?

• Ask for help:
  I couldn’t have done the project without my teacher’s expertise and the support of my peers.
• Research other projects:
  If you are absolutely lost and can’t come up with any ideas, then you should definitely search for other projects. You can either adapt the same concept in your community or you can perhaps give it an interesting twist!
• Something is better than nothing:
  You might have big plans for your project, but you might not have the funding. That’s okay! Start on a smaller scale, prove that you can make it work, then you’ll be able to realistically apply for funding to further develop your project.
• Expect something to go wrong:
  Usually when you have an idea, you have an idealistic vision of how it’ll work. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always end up working exactly the way you envisioned it, and you have to be ready to accept that.
• Money will only get you so far:
  Let’s say that you do get the funding for your project, that’s not enough! You must be ready to carry on despite any hardships you might go through along the way.

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Tuana Guzdemir

Turning Passion into Action

Project Overview

The specific problem we aimed to address through our summit was the lack of awareness and engagement among young people regarding climate change and sustainability issues. This problem is very important to me personally because I believe that empowering and educating the younger generation is essential for creating a sustainable future.

By organizing this summit, we wanted to provide a platform for young leaders to share their knowledge and inspire others to take action.

For this project, Ahmet Algi, Duru Olcer, and I organized and executed the summit entirely on our own! We planned and coordinated the event, curated the agenda, and invited speakers who are the best in their fields. The summit was held online, allowing us to engage participants from various locations around the globe. Our target audience included high school students who are interested in climate action and sustainability. We engaged them through interactive sessions, discussions, and breakout rooms.

Impact and Results

The positive feedback from our lovely participants and enthusiastic participation highlighted the impact of our efforts. This project not only enhanced our understanding of effective event organization and leadership but also reinforced our commitment to creating a more informed and proactive youth community. We are proud of what we have achieved and look forward to continuing our efforts to make a meaningful difference!

Tips for Others

As for the tips I can give, I want to be completely honest and sincere with you. Let’s be honest, none of us are superheroes, and while we might not be able to single-handedly save the planet or halt the climate crisis (at least not just yet!), we can still make a real difference in our own communities. It’s all about taking those small, meaningful actions that can inspire others and gradually build momentum. Start by finding something you’re passionate about and think about how you can use that passion to address a local issue. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people who share your interests and collaborate. And most importantly, keep your energy up and stay positive—change takes time, but every little step counts. So, go ahead, make your mark, and remember, every effort you make helps to build a better future for all of us!

Chloe Hannsz

Cookies for Climate: Raising Money for Waste Management

My name is Chloe Hannsz, and I completed my project alongside Rain Hannsz. We both live in Kauai, Hawaii and we are 16 years old.

I have many hobbies, which include playing tennis, making art, baking, and gardening. I am also very interested in environmental conservation and hope to pursue a career in that area.

Project Overview

What specific problem were we addressing in our community?

Kauai is in the middle of a solid waste crisis, as our landfill is currently overfilling. My partner and I wanted to address this problem by raising money for the cause. I care a lot about my community, so it is distressing to see this problem become increasingly serious.

What did we do for our project?

For our project, my partner and I started a fund called “Cookies for Climate”, during which we baked weekly cookies using organic ingredients and compostable packaging. We donated the entirety of our profits to a local nonprofit. We marketed and sold our cookies to our classmates, friends, and teachers. We created posters and price lists and spread the word via social media and word of mouth. We devised a different set of flavors each week and took orders ahead of time.

Results

What was the impact of our project?

By the end of our project, we had collected a total of $450 from cookie sales and committed over 45 hours to it—and our project was a success! We collected great feedback from our customers, who remarked that we had drawn their attention to the problem (and that our cookies were delicious!). WeCareKauai, the nonprofit that we had donated to, also expressed a lot of gratitude towards our project. This organization does a lot to help the community, so we were happy to support them. By utilizing our skills and hobbies, we were able to spread awareness about a cause that we care about.

Personal Reflection

How did participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship make me feel?

The weekly CLF meetings definitely helped me find the motivation and resources to implement my project. It was really inspiring to work with other highschoolers who share a passion for the environment. I am proud that we were able to stay so organized during our project, and that we sold out every week! We raised much more money than I had predicted, and I am very glad that we did it.

What is a tip for someone else who wants to do a similar project?

I say that you should just go for it. The project does not need to be perfect, and if it doesn’t work you can always try again!

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Arun Kanti Howlader

The Heavenly Path of Climate Dream by Arun

My name is Arun, and I am a passionate young change-maker dedicated to creating a positive impact in South Asia. I currently reside in Kansas City, USA, and at 19 years old, I am driven by a deep interest in environmental sustainability and community development.

Project Background & Overview

Specific Problem Addressed:

Arun presenting on the Bangladesh context.

In my community in Bangladesh, water scarcity and inadequate access to clean water have been pressing issues. According to the World Resources Institute, South Asia is home to some of the most water-stressed regions in the world, with millions lacking reliable access to safe drinking water. This problem not only affects health but also hampers economic development and educational opportunities, particularly in rural areas.

Personal Connection:

This issue is deeply personal to me as I have witnessed the struggles of people in nearby villages who spend hours each day fetching water. The sight of children missing school and families suffering from waterborne diseases compelled me to take action.

Project Execution

Project Actions:

Implementation:

Target Audiences:

Our primary target audiences were schoolchildren and rural families. By focusing on schools, we aimed to create a ripple effect where educated children would spread the knowledge within their families and communities. We also collaborated with local NGOs and community groups to reach a broader audience and ensure the project’s success.

Impact

Contributions Collected:

Results:

The impact has been profound. We installed rainwater harvesting systems in 2 schools, benefiting over 5,000 students. According to feedback from teachers and community leaders, attendance and health have improved significantly. Waterborne diseases have decreased by 40% in the areas we served, and families report spending less time fetching water, allowing them to pursue other productive activities.

Collaborations:

Personal Reflection

Inspiration and Support:

Being part of the Climate Leaders Fellowship cohort was immensely inspiring. I received invaluable advice and support from fellow members who shared their experiences and best practices. This network provided me with the confidence and motivation to pursue my project despite the challenges.

Emotional Impact:

Participating in this fellowship made me feel empowered and hopeful. Knowing that I could make a tangible difference in my community was incredibly fulfilling. I am most proud of the sustainable change we achieved and the positive feedback from the communities we served.

Tips for Others

1. Start with a clear, actionable plan.
2. Engage the community from the outset.
3. Collaborate with local organizations for better reach.
4. Utilize social media for fundraising and awareness.
5. Be adaptable and open to feedback.
6. Focus on sustainable solutions.
7. Educate and empower the beneficiaries.
8. Document your progress and share success stories.
9. Build a dedicated team of volunteers.
10. Seek mentorship and guidance.
11. Celebrate small victories to maintain motivation.

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Audrey Hsu

Bay Area Teen Distributes 2000+ Clothing Items to Shield San Francisco’s Homeless from Extreme Weather

Hi, I’m Audrey, a 16-year-old student at Saint Francis High School in the Bay Area, California. My journey into the world of sustainability began early, ignited when I first learned about climate change in my second grade.

Since then, I have dedicated myself to driving positive change within my community and beyond. My most remarkable achievement to date is founding a youth empowerment environmental group in 2018. What started as a local initiative has now blossomed into the international 501(c)(3) nonprofit Everything Starts Small, which now has 18 chapters in 15 countries and impacted more than 10,000 people. Through this organization and through personal initiatives, my goal is to help society become more sustainable.

My commitment to sustainability doesn’t stop there. I also love to leverage creativity and my love for STEM to tackle environmental issues. At a local bioscience lab, I conduct cutting-edge wet-lab research on bioenergy, exploring innovative solutions to some of the planet’s most pressing problems. My dedication was recently recognized on a national level when I secured first place nationally in the Biomimicry Institute’s Youth Design competition with my innovative microplastics collection device.

Besides this, I also love spending my free time appreciating nature, hiking, and going to explore sustainable restaurants and businesses!

Project Overview

Regarding my project, I hosted a clothing drive to provide materials for the homeless community. Most of my collections came from my neighborhood. When I first started the project, I had posted my flier in my neighborhood’s online chat and it was not long before a lot of people expressed that they had old (but still in good condition) clothes they have been wanting to get rid of. I also worked with my school’s office to coordinate announcements and set up a drop-off site on campus, and I also worked with all my teachers to announce information about this project to my classmates.

Results

Partner Organization

Personal Reflection

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Simran Kaur

A Vision to Restore Vision: Collecting Used Eyeglasses/Sunglasses to donate to Those Who Can’t Buy Their Own

Hello! My name is Simran Kaur, I live near Los Angeles, California, and I am a sophomore in high school. In my free time, I enjoy playing piano and violin, doing origami, spending time with friends and family, and volunteering.

The Original Vision

I joined CLF in my freshman year, wanting to make a difference and meet like minded people who want to inspire and bring a change in the world. I have been wearing eyeglasses since elementary, and have never wanted to throw away my old pairs (that were still in good condition) solely because they weren’t my size or power anymore.

I researched this issue and understood that this is a common issue amongst children especially, who outgrow approximately two pairs of eyeglasses every year. By high school, most students who wear eyeglasses have numerous old pairs that they’ve outgrown, which is why I made my high school’s students my target audience. I also found that “more than 4 million pairs of reading glasses are thrown away every year in North America – that’s about 250 metric tons.” Additionally, as found on Health Policy Watch, “only about 36% of the estimated 1.25 billion people who need corrective eyewear for common distance vision impairments actually have a suitable set of glasses today”.

After identifying this under-addressed issue and knowing these statistics, I knew what I wanted to do for my CLF project. Not only would reusing old eyeglasses give them a second life while helping the needy, it would also reduce the number of eyeglasses/sunglasses going to landfills and spread awareness that used eyeglasses could be recycled as well.

Vision Comes True

I designed flyers and put them up around my high school’s campus, made morning announcements, and sent out emails to make everyone aware of this unique opportunity to recycle their used eyeglasses to make a difference in somebody’s life. Over the course of three weeks, students, teachers, and staff members from my high school donated/recycled their used pairs of prescription eyeglasses and prescription/non-prescription sunglasses. 

By the end of the entire drive, I was able to collect 180 pairs of eyeglasses/sunglasses that were all in good condition. I donated them to the Conejo Valley Lions Club so that they could distribute them to those in need around the world. 

Looking Back

This was my first time organizing a project like this and I am really happy and proud of myself that I went out of my comfort zone and completed this project. Having such a successful drive has inspired me to take this to the next level in the future and expand district wide and beyond, so that we can give a second life to many more perfect pairs of eyeglasses that are lying around or going to landfills.

Being a part of the Climate Leaders Fellowship and sharing with and listening to other like-minded people’s ideas really motivated and inspired me to do something impactful. There was always support available if needed, and I’m grateful to CLF for motivating us and making us realize that no matter how young we are, we can all make a difference in people’s lives and combat climate change if we try and work hard. I hope that this drive inspires others in my community to take action, follow their passions, and make a difference in their community as well, because the only way we can fight climate change at a larger scale is if we all work together and do our part in saving our planet Earth.

People Who Supported My Vision

For my project, I contacted multiple organizations, and finally decided to partner with the Conejo Valley Lions Club, as their mission spoke out to me. There were many people involved in making this collection drive a success. Firstly, the Oak Park High School staff helped to make this drive possible, and were very supportive throughout. The members of the Origami Club (A club at my school that I am the president of) helped to advertise and spread the word about the mission. Pam Rhodes from Conejo Valley Lions Club helped me with the logistics while collaborating with the Club. I’d like to thank my parents for supporting me throughout. And finally, thank you to all the students, teachers, and staff who searched for their glasses lying around in their homes and donated.

Tips for Holding a Collection Drive

1. Identify a relevant issue that you connect to. Find an issue that connects to you and brainstorm different ways to help solve that issue. It’s more fun and meaningful to do a project that you hold close to your heart.
2. Don’t think that you have to do it alone. Ask for support from different organizations, such as CLF or organizations that share the same vision as you. Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family as well. 
3. Spread Awareness. It’s important to spread awareness of the issue you are trying to solve as well as your project so people can take part and help make a difference. Social media and flyers are a good way to start off.

Be confident in yourself. It can be scary at first, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know if you could’ve done something huge! Keep trying and never give up!

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Sophie Kim

Reducing Our Foodprint: Tackling Food Waste in Schools

Hi! My name is Sophie Kim and I live in Huntington Beach, California. At the time of writing, I’m 16 years old and a rising junior in high school. I love learning languages, going on long bike rides through my neighborhood, pondering philosophical questions, reading classics (Little Women is one of my favorites), and volunteering at my local library!I co-led this project with my friend Jack Hunzinger, rising senior, also based in Huntington Beach but originally from Long Island, New York. He’s both a friend and a fellow environmentalist; we met at school and started working together as part of a youth-led environmental nonprofit organization called The Clean & Green Initiative (you should join :).

He was the one who initially came up with the idea to do a food waste audit!

Project Background & Overview

The specific problem we wanted to address was food waste, primarily because it has an immensely negative impact on climate change. Data compiled by the United Nations demonstrates that roughly 8% of all GHG emissions annually stem from food waste, which translates to a carbon footprint more than three times greater than that of the entire aviation industry. It’s also somewhat neglected compared to other issues, and it’s easier — at least from where we stand as HS students — to make progress on the issue of food waste than it is on, say, the carbon impact of air travel. In this sense, we tried to follow the ITN framework (importance, tractability, neglectedness) for effective altruism.

More than its impact on climate change, however, reducing food that’s wasted is also a path forward to achieving SDG #2, Zero Hunger. The World Food Programme estimates that 309 million people are currently experiencing chronic hunger and food insecurity worldwide. By reducing the food that’s wasted and redirecting it to those who need it, we can address both climate change and world hunger.

From a personal standpoint, I’m a passionate climate activist because I grew up in a coastal town and have witnessed both the amazing beauty and wonder of nature as well as the detrimental impacts of human activity. In October of 2021, there was an oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach that resulted in 25,000 gallons of petroleum being dumped into the ocean, harming our precious marine ecosystems and our protected conservancy, the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. I’m also well aware of the millions of people worldwide who are suffering from hunger due to poverty and conflicts. As a Korean-American, I could very well have been one of those people suffering in North Korea had my grandparents not immigrated to the United States.

Project Execution & Impact

For our project, we hosted a food waste audit on the campus of our high school (Huntington Beach High School), collecting, categorizing, and analyzing 21 bags of trash. We coordinated with and received approval from our school’s administration, recruited 18 volunteers, and collected a total of 257 completely untouched fruits. We also collected 27.3 pounds of plastic trash and found quite a few random items (including a basketball, shaving cream, water balloons, painted tiles, and a Hydro Flask).

We collected data by either individually counting or weighing our categories, which included “plastic waste,” “untouched fruit,” “untouched vegetables,” “cardboard and paper,” “leftover fruit,” “other untouched food,” and a couple others.

Jack and I are now working on compiling a report on our findings to present to district leadership with recommendations on how food waste can be addressed at our school. We’re looking to eventually partner with a local nonprofit organization that serves the homeless to donate some of the food that students don’t take rather than simply throwing what’s left away. We’re also planning to ask California lawmakers to change the law requiring every student to take certain items, including fruit — although it was a policy initially intended to improve student health, it is instead increasing food waste, contributing to the climate crisis, and wasting taxpayer funds.

Since Jack and I are both part of The Clean & Green Initiative, we conducted this project as a part of the organization and compiled photos on https://www.tcagi.org/food-waste.

Personal Reflection

I absolutely loved my experience in the Climate Leaders Fellowship! I met so many incredible like-minded high school students and the community was an amazing resource. It’s being surrounded by people like this that restores your faith in humanity and your belief that the world can rise up to the challenge of the climate crisis.

Whenever I had an issue with my project or needed advice on anything, I knew I could reach out to the other Fellows for help! There were always so many options: I could send people messages on the Discord server, I could bring it up during our next Zoom meeting, I could send an email to my student facilitators or John, etc. There was never a moment when I felt alone while completing my project.

In regards to what I’m most proud of: I initially had a separate project idea that didn’t end up working out. Instead of giving up, I decided to pivot and try something new, and this turned out even better than what I was initially planning! I think being able to persevere and continue experimenting is an important life skill, and I was lucky enough to have my partner Jack alongside me every step of the way to help me do just that.

Tips for Others

In terms of advice I’d have for anyone else trying to conduct a food waste audit, the #1 tip I have is to plan your audit well in advance. Don’t wait! In our case, our audit had to be delayed due to a staff event, but since we had a bit of buffer time it still ended up being alright. Had we scheduled our audit for the week before summer break, we wouldn’t have been able to complete the project at all. Second, recruit volunteers! This is going to be a tough one. It’s hard to convince high schoolers to sort through trash for hours — I still have no clue how we pulled it off. Try recruiting friends and contact all the environmental and service clubs you possibly can.

Also, be sure to research other food waste audits and what specific materials you need (gloves, masks, a tarp, a scale, bags, etc). There are a lot of great guides out there! Here’s one by the EPA: A Guide to Conducting Student Food Waste Audits: A Resource for Schools | US EPA

Connections

If you want to connect, I’d love it if you considered joining The Clean & Green Initiative! Here’s some information regarding open positions: TCAGI Positions Open for Applications

Also, here are some links!

Youth-Led Environmental Activism Nonprofit | tcagi.org

Apply to join a team: https://www.tcagi.org/join-our-team

Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/HETBSeeD7

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleanandgreen_initiative

Read our blog: https://www.tcagi.org/blog

“Save the world or die trying.”

 

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Choyoung Kim

Young Activist’s Project Promotes Climate Finance in Shanghai

Hello! My name is Choyoung Kim, and I’m from Korea. I am 16 years old and currently a sophomore attending Shanghai American School in China. I love to read, travel, and play soccer.

Shanghai is one of China’s most vibrant and economically robust cities. Growing up in this city, I realized people in my community were prone to producing greater waste and pollution as they tend to overproduce and overconsume. In fact, I noticed that Chinese consumers are relatively more sensitive to the price and efficiency of a good rather than its sustainability, and this ultimately led to the disposal of more waste and the emission of more pollution. However, as Shanghai has the largest GDP in China, I saw the potential for my community to have adequate financial resources and infrastructure to invest in environmental initiatives and adopt greener practices. Hence, I decided to research and immerse myself in finding out more about this aspect.

At the beginning of the fellowship, I wanted to create a unique and personalized project with the intersection of my two interests: climate and finance. I was surprised to discover that climate finance is a fundamental aspect of climate action, as it not only accelerates climate action in emerging economies and developing countries to finance their climate measures but also scales up investments to transition the global economy towards a low-carbon economy. 

Therefore, I decided to create an Instagram page called the Green Accountant to share my research and findings on climate finance with a broader audience. I hoped that creating this page would promote the concept of climate finance and motivate the public to advocate for more funds and investments in climate action as well as for more policies to reduce harmful climate impacts. 

The target audiences of my project were the general public and high-profile leaders of governments and companies, and I engaged them by pointing out specific actions they could take to combat climate change, for instance, government institutions and companies to increase transparency and credibility in their climate commitments.

By the end of the fellowship, I had accumulated over 40 active followers on my Instagram page, more than 70 likes, and most of all, more than 10 posts and infographics published on the platform. Additionally, I engaged with posts from other accounts that are advocating for similar causes and also received a partnership proposal from another sustainable organization.  

The fellowship provided lots of support and guidance that helped me through various stages of my project. The cohort meetings held during the course of the fellowship were beneficial and constructive throughout the implementation of my project and guided me through the whole process. Also, the active communication on the Discord servers helped me connect and interact with like-minded individuals who share the same passions as me. 

Some advice I have for future participants who wish to do a project involving the usage of social media is to focus on engagement and theme. I created a schedule to ensure that I posted content regularly to engage my followers and attract new ones. Similarly, I made sure to add relevant hashtags under all of my posts to increase the reach of my posts. Otherwise, I also made my posts consistent in their theme and design by keeping the colors of the posts in shades of green in order to give a sense of unity and theme of nature and environment.

Overall, participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship was an exciting and meaningful experience as it allowed me to take the wheel to advocate for awareness of climate change. The experience and knowledge I gained from this fellowship was truly one of a kind. I am also leaving this program with the discovery of a new area of interest: climate finance, and I am hoping to expand this further in my future endeavors. I am excited to continue dedicating myself to combatting the issue of climate change in the future.

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Mary Klene

Innovation in Action: The Climate Leaders Fellowship

Hello! My name is Mary Klene and I am a high school student from Dayton Ohio. Last winter I had the privilege of participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship and implementing an environmental-focused project in my community.

About Me!

I am the youngest Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist, which enlivens my passion for the natural world. My family enjoys traveling to national parks and hopes to visit them all one day. In my free time, I enjoy writing, kayaking, and beekeeping.

Project Overview

After completion of the fellowship, I was able to work on three different projects. Each project focused on a different aspect of the environment, while also implementing environmental education into the final result.

Tree Plenish

This year my friend, Phoebe Matthews, and I worked with the non-profit organization, Tree Plenish, to provide trees to Dayton, Ohio at a low cost. For five dollars, community members could purchase a tree sapling, which would help offset the high school’s carbon footprint. Being aware of my carbon footprint and helping others understand theirs, is important to me because by understanding the impact each of us have on the earth, we are able to coexist with the environment. In total, we sold 216 trees and spoke at 7 different events to educate on the importance of trees in the ecosystem and how to get involved with the project. On event day, when the trees were handed out, guests were able to hear a short presentation about the project, play tree trivia, and participate in other small activities to learn about how to get involved in offsetting carbon footprints.

Pollinator Garden through the Teen Eco Summit

Prior to the start of the fellowship, the environmental club attended the Teen Eco Summit hosted by the Columbus Zoo. The Teen Eco Summit is a yearly environmental conference for high school students to attend, where they hear from guest speakers around the world, about important environmental issues, initiatives, and research. After attending the conference each school that attended was challenged to create a community-based environmental project. This spring, I was able to lead the team in the creation of a pollinator garden, which is located next to Springboro Elementary School. Students at the elementary school are able to view and interact with the garden by watching the different species utilize the land, providing a unique learning opportunity.

Mother Earth Love by Horizons

As long as I can remember, writing has been an important part of my life. When Mother Earth Love asked me to begin writing for them, I was able to incorporate a passion into something meaningful that gives back to the community. With this position, I am able to talk to environmental leaders around the world and hear about projects they are implementing in their communities. Because articles shared by Mother Earth Love are typically written by the youth, my hope is young readers are inspired by the stories. These stories emphasize the idea that a small action can have a large impact.

Contributions & Results

These projects would not have been completed without the help of organizations from all around Ohio. Thank you to Tree Plenish, who offered Phoebe and me this opportunity, and to everyone who supported us by purchasing a tree. Tree Plenish would not have been accomplished without the help of the Springboro Rotary Club, Springboro High School, Dayton 2 News, Springboro City Council, and Tree City U.S.A. In the completion of the pollinator garden, the Columbus Zoo and Battele offered us extensive support and funding. Finally, none of these projects would be completed without the help of the Springboro Environmental Club and advisor, Mrs. Andrews.

Personal Reflection & Growth

Throughout the fellowship, my eyes were opened to the number of individuals making a stand for the environment. The overall experience was inspiring, showing the amount of hope there is for the future. I started the fellowship with little knowledge of what it would entail. Through the fellowship, my creative skills were challenged, as I was asked to write about topics that were fortifying. This helped me improve my writing skills and made me feel more confident about the changes writing could bring.

When asked, “What are you most proud of,” the only response that came to mind was, I am proud of the change everyone in the fellowship was able to initiate. Each member spent numerous hours creating and implementing a plan in their community, which is not an easy task. For me, these projects were life-changing, and I feel very privileged to have been able to work with such insightful individuals.

Advice for Others

Nowadays there seems to be more disagreement and damage involving the environment…I learned it’s the state of affairs; most can agree there is a love for the outdoors. Some considerable advice the Climate Fellowship taught me is that love of the outdoors is the biggest key to environmental amelioration. In this day and age, environmental issues are a dominant factor in the world. Though we as people can not solve every single issue, it is our love for the world that allows us to make changes to improve the state of our environment. We can all agree that the natural world is a wondrous place that calls for protection. Another important lesson the fellowship taught me was how connections built inspiration. Throughout the fellowship, I was able to communicate with youth around the world to hear about their projects and ask for advice about mine. When talking to everyone about their projects, a wave of inspiration hit me, allowing me to test my creative boundaries, and improve my project.

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New York City Teen Raises Awareness to Improve Waste Management and Climate Change in Her School

Hi! My name is Natalie Medina, and I’m from Brooklyn, New York. I’m 16 years old, and I love listening to music, being outdoors, and being involved within my community.

Project Overview

When I heard about the Climate Leaders fellowship, I was excited, as I always had a passion for environmental sustainability. I have witnessed waste management within my school community, with many not properly sorting their trash. I wanted to provide the students with the knowledge they need to combat climate change because I think education is a strong force for change. I intended to promote an environmentally aware culture both within and outside my school. The specific problems I addressed were the lack of awareness about climate change and waste management within my school community. Many students, though they know climate change exists, lack enough understanding about how their daily activities contributed to it and about more effective waste disposal methods. I aimed to raise awareness and encourage initiative around environmental issues and waste mismanagement by arranging an engaging and informative event.

For my project, I hosted a trivia and raffle event focused on educating people about climate change and waste management. I was able to collaborate with the sustainable club on Earth Day. The trivia covered topics such as recycling, sustainable practices, and climate change. I was able to implement my project at the entrance of the cafeteria to accommodate a large number of students. We also provided small incentives, such as eco-friendly prizes, to encourage participation. Seeing numerous students actively participate in the event and witnessing their increased awareness of climate change and waste management was definitely fulfilling.

Personal Reflection

Participating in the Climate Leader Fellowship helped me gain a sense of empowerment as I was able to take on responsibility to help improve my community, even if it was a small change. My project is not done, as the first step was to educate and engage students. I aim to conduct a waste audit and ensure that there are sufficient recycling and compost bins throughout the school.

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Washington Teen Combats Climate Change by Improving Community Waste Management

My name is Isha Mehrotra and I’m a 15 year old teen living in Redmond, Washington.

In my free time, I love getting involved with my community and nurturing my goals through youth councils, spending time with my loved ones, entertaining myself with art projects, playing volleyball, writing, and listening to music. I consider myself to be incredibly creative, and I have taught myself crocheting, jewelry making, pottery, painting, drawing, and numerous other miscellaneous crafts.

Project Background & Overview

The goal of my project is to help divert common hard-to-recycle items away from landfills and educate my community on Waste Management’s guidelines and encourage proper waste sorting techniques.
I aimed to connect with the general public in my city of Redmond, WA through my drives and outreach, as the public is essential to raise awareness to support waste reduction, as the real change happens on a personal level, controlling what waste is produced and if it is properly sorted. I conducted a survey with over 100 respondents in my community, and the findings showed that although individuals are committed to stopping climate change, they are unable to make sense of the complicated guidelines on WM, and hard to recycle items such as textiles, electronics, and plastic toys often end up in the landfill as they are unable to properly recycle them. My project focused on learning and execution, facilitating healthier waste management habits. This topic was especially important to me as I have personal experiences with the struggles of properly sorting waste, and the survey helped me realize how many individuals share similar issues, which motivated me to further my actions and aid my community.

Project Execution

The target audience for my project varied greatly, and I made sure to cover as many people as possible. I aimed to connect with the general public in my city of Redmond, WA through my drives and outreach, as the public is essential to raise awareness to support waste reduction, as the real change happens on a personal level, controlling what waste is produced and if it is properly sorted. I also attempted to reach government officials, which I succeeded at by reaching the mayor, as the authority and support of the government is vital to push for positive change for the environment. I also concentrated my education on younger age groups, who are the pioneers of our future, and therefore knowledge on their personal impact on the climate and how they can reduce their carbon footprint is essential. Due to the numerous benefits of waste reduction on our environment, I understood the importance of engaging a wide range of individuals in my project, rallying for change in my community.

I achieved my project goal by hosting drives in my community for the most common hard to dispose of items in my community, which I had gathered through the data in my survey. I hosted both a textile and e-waste drive, which proved to be incredibly successful. I was able to divert 1961 pounds of textiles away from landfills with my clothing drive, and 3058 pounds of e-waste away from landfills with my e-waste drive. Textiles and electronics were the top two hardest to recycle items in my community survey, so I aimed to reduce the impact of community waste on landfills, as the donated goods are instead recycled to save material in our environment. I completed the educational portion of my project by delivering a lesson on reducing waste to the fifth grade at my school and advocating outside my local library. I crafted a PowerPoint to present to the fifth graders, along with gamification through a waste sorting activity at the end in which the students were able to apply their learnings from the lesson. I elaborated on problems we as a community face, the challenges Waste Management faces at their sorting centers and shared with them the benefits of composting and recycling.

I also opened their eyes to the reality of the recycling center, pointing out the overwhelming number of items that were not actually recyclable, reiterating the importance of correctly sorting waste. The activity at the end was to sort an array of items into either compost, trash, or recycling, applying the principles they learned in the PPT. Leaving the lesson, the students took away the importance of following the guidelines set in place by Waste Management, educating themselves and individuals around them to foster a healthier community. At the library, I set up the same waste sorting activity, along with a poster I created detailing essential aspects of managing waste. I shared my project and presented my poster to interested individuals, affirming the importance of waste management to members of my community. Overall, I implemented my project in order to drive an educational campaign on the importance of correctly sorting waste and reducing the impact on landfills by hosting drives that direct hard to recycle items to organizations which are able to properly reuse the material.

Impact

I received amazing results from all the individuals I impacted, and seeing the excited faces at my drives were incredibly motivating and fulfilling. The visit from city mayor Angela Birney was also unbelievably exciting, and I look forward to working with her in the future. I am greatly thankful for the wide array of organizations I worked with and their constant support, including Waste Management, The Redmond Sustainability Team, The Episcopal Church of Holy Cross, USAgain, and 3R-Technology. Waste Management has supported my project from the beginning, providing me with baseline resources and effective and engaging ideas which have made my project a success. With their partnership, I gained an inside look into the challenging process of waste sorting, further inspiring me after I had the firsthand experience from my visit to the Cascade Recycling Center. The Recycle Right Event they hosted also introduced me to the organizations I would work with in the future to host my drives, and Shannon Brennan from WM was kind enough to provide me with their direct contacts. My meeting with the Redmond Sustainability Team was also incredibly fruitful, and I was able to share the community struggles mentioned in the survey I sent out, while the team were able to share theirs, leading to discussions and brainstorming on ideas of what could be done to combat collective issues. I’m thankful for the cooperation and insights I took away from the meeting.

The Episcopal Church of Holy Cross was also an integral organization in my project, as they allowed me to use their venue to host all my drives, encouraging me to spread the word about the drive to their patrons as well, and I truly could not have done it without the undying support the church and it’s community has shown me through my endeavors of this project. I also had the opportunity to work with USAgain to host my textile drive, in which we collected 1926 pounds of textiles to be properly recycled. I communicated with them over email to book their truck for a drive, and did all my marketing separately. 3R Technology was another organization I enjoyed working with. I am currently communicating with them to help my e-waste drive on June 19th to be a success, and they have shown nothing but enthusiasm and dedication, aiding my marketing efforts by spreading the word on their social media as well. Working with these organizations greatly improved the scope and impact of my project, and I am grateful to their willingness to collaborate and work together for a sustainable environment.

Personal Reflection

The Climate Leaders Fellowship is a transformative program that allows students passionate about saving our environment to implement real change in their communities. The fellowship provides a platform and a helping hand to nudge students onwards to unlock their potential and spur their passion for climate justice onwards into an inspiring project that benefits both themselves and their community. I am incredibly grateful for the guidance I received from the Fellowship, as I was able to implement a project that I plan to nurture and grow, which was based on the counseling of both my fellows and leaders I met through the program. The Climate Leaders Fellowship provided me with an educational experience for both me and my community, motivating me to take action to help work towards solutions for the betterment of the environment and society. I am extremely proud of the scope and reach of my project, and the lasting impact I was able to rally for.

Tips

• Try to improve your scope and reach as much as possible. Working with other organizations is key
• Once you have a base for your project, it begins to snowball and gain traction
• Work on something you are passionate about, and stick to it.

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Marin County Teen Combats Fast Fashion with Local Recycling Event

Hello! My name is Phoebe Morf, I’m an 11th grade student at Archie Williams High School in San Anselmo, CA. My biggest passions are soccer, art, exploring new places and foods and spending time with friends and family.

Project Background

My Climate Leaders Fellowship project is based on an issue that affects me and my friends in our daily life. As teens, many of us can’t afford to purchase expensive clothing that will last for years. When the explosion of cheaper, more affordable clothing stores (Brandy Melville and Zara) became more mainstream, I realized that over time I was able to accumulate MORE stuff which led to me constantly disposing MORE stuff, and all with the intent to buy MORE new, cheaper items in my closet. It was a cycle that is unsustainable. Most kids now are purchasing most of their clothing from inexpensive clothing stores that ultimately will be disposed of quickly. Our earth cannot manage this much waste. 92 tons of clothing end up in landfills every year. That’s about a full dump truck every second!

Tabor Axelrod Paoli

Earth Meets Art:
17-Year-Old Brooklyn Founder of Earth Nonprofit Joins Arts Nonprofit Board of Directors

My name is Tabor Axelrod Paoli. I am a seventeen year old lifelong Brooklyn resident. Over the past two years I have been building my nonprofit, NYCEarth, which aims to increase urban greenspace by systematizing NYC’s million tree initiative while promoting meaningful action among teens seeking to get involved in urban eco-activism. To date NYCEarth has mobilized the allocation of over $413,000 worth of resources toward planting street trees by way of our Green City Project.

NYCEarth operates intramurally across three Brooklyn schools, and in conjunction with two local nonprofits. The organization has gone from a one-off project to a full nonprofit capable of sustainably taking on urban activism. This year, we’re officially merging with the nonprofit art organization Beautify Brooklyn. Beautify Brooklyn was started by lifelong teacher Robert Elstein with the goal of improving public spaces and helping local artists get established in their field. NYCEarth and Beautify Brooklyn have collaborated since NYCEarth’s beginning, and Beautify Brooklyn has been an integral part of NYCEarth’s growth. Following our merger I have been honored to join the Board of Directors as the youngest member to date. This new chapter in NYCEarth’s history poses so many opportunities for growth. We are excited to join our missions going forward, and I am excited to see what we can do.

This cycle NYCEarth was actively involved in informing and shaping Beautify Brooklyn’s expansion to increase environmental awareness and widen the scope of its collaborative grassroots activism. I believe Beautify Brooklyn’s large platform and extensive foundation will elevate NYCEarth’s following and reach, while NYCEarth will contribute to Beautify Brooklyn as a whole by expanding its mission and introducing it to new audiences, as well as bringing in youth leadership.

Historically Beautify Brooklyn manifested as a series of disconnected events largely organized by freelance artists. While most events turned out well and had high attendance, the lack of centralized membership made it difficult to coordinate specifics. This in turn made it difficult to keep a cohesive theme at scale. Events showcased a variety of local art but didn’t bring local artists together in the way that we had hoped. In the year following my appointment to the board of directors, we have been combatting this.

My goal, like other administrative personnel, has been to consolidate our large but unstructured following into a more measurable member base with thematically linked, inter-coordinated projects. To do this we established the Artmageddon Collective, an annual paid membership that grants community access to exclusive social events, workshops and priority registration. By unifying our disconnected member base the goal is to create outcomes that transcend individual limits. So far, this effort has been successful. Already the Artmageddon Collective has reached over 350 members and continues to grow daily. We also onboarded over twenty new Beautify Brooklyn part-time volunteer staff, with positions ranging from producing artists, to committee heads, to financial planners.

One great example of this is Earthy Girthy 2024, our first fully structured event. Earthy Girthy is an eco-centric event that combines art exhibition and environmental advocacy to both give local artists a foothold in the industry and bring attention to urgent environmental crises. The event invites the audience to interact with exhibits through workshops. Each workshop represents a core aspect of Brooklyn’s urban environment and contains important information about a local environmental focus. Each station has a call to action, including detailed steps that encourage the audience to help. As our first centralized event, Earthy Girthy 2024 was an important step in Beautify Brooklyn’s organizational direction. It was developed with extensive planning during weekly project planning meetings. This year Earthy Girthy grew from a wonderful but unstructured neighborhood event in the park to a dynamic, organized event with confirmed artist collaborators held in an 18,000 cubic foot event space.

Beautify Brooklyn is a crowdsourced organization, so during our planning process we had to rethink how we obtained materials. Instead of just giving each activity a budget we encouraged the planners to consider the exact materials they might need for a variety of workshop iterations, even if some materials would make others redundant. We then sent a call looking for specific material donations in exchange for recognition and exclusive event credit. Finally, we supplemented our needs using recycled materials recovered from warehouses and donation drives like The Big Reuse. Every Saturday we held a project planning meeting during which producing artists came together to coordinate their activities and help build the event at large. While this process was far more intensive, the end result was worth it. The exhibit was more detailed than anything we had hosted before, with 31 local paintings displayed, seven immersive workshops and six paintings being sold for up to $150 each. I am proud to say that we have been invited back by the event space owner to hold a semi-permanent space for future events throughout August.

While NYCEarth has largely focused on integrating with Beautify Brooklyn this cycle, it has been far from dormant. In addition to continuing operations across our schools and appearing at several Beautify Brooklyn events, NYCEarth made an appearance at Neil Young’s Crazy Horse Tour in Queens. In early May we were contacted by Mr. Young’s tour manager and invited to set up a tent in his Love Earth Village. Not only was this a great opportunity to spread awareness about our mission and route traffic to our Tree Request Form but also to connect with the other incredible organizations that were present. I got to meet so many other grassroots organizations that sought to tackle environmental problems in unique ways. It was an incredible experience, and I learned fundamentals of organizational structuring that I hope to expand on going forward.

As always, none of this could have been possible without the mentorship and critical support of the Climate Leaders Fellowship. Two years ago I could have never dreamed of having such an incredible opportunity. Working in the Climate Leaders Fellowship has empowered me to exceed my expectations in a way I never thought was possible. It has been so rewarding to work both as a facilitator and co-director to help others exceed theirs. I recommend it wholeheartedly for anyone looking to make a difference, especially if you don’t know where to start. It not only gives you the skills and the connections you need to succeed, but the agency to find direction in an often overwhelming world. Helping facilitate the CLF has given me every bit as much fulfillment as enrolling in it. I have been so grateful to be a part of this process, and I cannot wait to see what fellows start in future cycles.

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Composting Scraps One Jar At A Time

My name is Emily. I am 17 years old from rural Virginia. Growing up in Appalachia, I live in a rural culture that is deeply intertwined with the environment. I have learned to appreciate the flourishing forests around me and the beauty they have to offer. As I have grown up, I have seen the Virginia pines dying from mild winters. However, where I live, there are limited ways to process and prevent this pollution. There are no municipal composting plants in the area and many families are unable to set up large composting rigs at home due to limited resources and the risk of attracting wild animals.

I wanted to address waste management in a way that overcomes these barriers and addresses educational gaps in waste management.

Project Overview & Results

For my project, I targeted middle schoolers as an audience old enough to make independent choices that will become the decisions of the future generation. I created a workshop for students at a local middle school to create their own composting system out of recycled jars and containers while learning about composting in our community.

I created a curriculum that covers the science behind composting, what food scraps can and cannot be composted, and how to properly use compost to grow nutritious fruits and vegetables at home. Students were in charge of layering soil with leaf litter, apple cores, banana peels, and grasses into a container they brought from home, as well as decorating their container with paint markers. Many of them told me they would take their compost jar home and use it on a home garden. This workshop was attended by 17 students, each was interested in some aspect of the workshop, even if it was eating the apples I brought for them to compost.

Personal Reflection

I would not have been able to complete this project without the Climate Leaders Fellowship, its facilitators, and all of the wonderful people I met through our meetings. I saw people from different communities and cultures all struggling with the same global issues. Through our meetings, I felt hope that there was a global community dedicated to solving climate issues and preserving our future. I am proud of this generation and what we are willing to achieve. That being said, I have a few tips for future Fellows looking to start planning their project.

Tips for Others

#1 Be active in your community to be able to identify issues and create solutions. 

Visit your local farmer’s market, go to your local school board meetings, vote in local elections. Being in touch with your community will help you realize specific issues, specific barriers that are preventing your community from solving these issues, and how you can address these to work towards a solution.

#2 Take your Fellows’ advice to heart. 

I would not have been able to complete my project or have success without the advice of the Fellows in my cohort. They were able to help me through each step of the process as we worked on our different projects from contacting community leaders and implementing our project to analyzing our results.

#3 Have fun! 

This may be hard to do for all parts of your project but fun is what kept me going to complete mine. Having fun during the Fellowship meetings and seeing kids’ eyes light up doing my composting workshop was easily the most rewarding part of this experience.

I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who reads the news and feels a pit in their stomach, who feels the winters getting warmer or are victims of climate disaster, and wants to make a difference however big or small in their community. You CAN make a difference, and that has been the most powerful lesson I have learned from being a Fellow.

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Lysha Rashid

Virginia High School Sophomore Student Designs a Sustainability Project to Minimize Human Diseases

Hello! My name is Lysha Rashid. I’m a rising sophomore at Forest Park High School in the IT Engineering Program. I was born in New Jersey and now I live in Virginia with my amazing parents and my energetic younger brother. I spend most of my free time with my little brother or either reading, taking pictures or listening to music.Ever since I was little, I’ve always had thoughts about how science changes the world to what it is today. That soon made me develop my passion for science & technology. That’s why I mostly gather and increase my knowledge for any kind of scientific learning activities or opportunities.

Project Overview

I joined Climate Leaders Fellowship in the spring term (2024). I wanted to address issues on recycling and waste because I wanted to reduce the amount of waste put out and control the environmental (air, water & soil) health issue. Along with informing students, parents and the community about this issue and how we can help the environment.

I decided to first organize a donation & recycling event with a club I’m in (FCCLA) and along with a few of my high school teachers. Together, we went to each classroom asking for their recycling items. For the donations we asked our whole community, schools around us, and everyone else to donate their items to us after school (we kept them in a classroom until the event ended).

Impact & Results

We have received over 200 bags of recycling items such as plastic, paper, and more. We donated the recycling items to an upcycle creative reuse center in Alexandria, VA. We have received over 300-400 bags of donations (clothes, food, toys, etc.) with those we donated them to many homeless, orphanage, food shelters across VA.

Even though my target audience was mainly teenagers & elderly, I still wanted to reach out to the youth. So, for my second project, I decided to present my topic about recycling & pollution to my earlier elementary school, Mary Williams, VA. I also did a fun activity with the students, creating multiple pollution awareness posters which I hung up around the community. After that I also presented my topic to a Bangla and Music Cultural School (BCCDI D.C.) that I attend.

Personal Reflection

I’m proud that I managed to address the issue of waste & recycling to teenagers, the elderly and the youth. A tip I have for someone who joined CLF (Climate Leaders Fellowship) and unsure of what to do for their project, figure out a topic that you feel the most passionate about and work from there.

I’m beyond grateful and utterly humbled for the incredible opportunity to take part in the Climate Leaders Fellowship. The experience and knowledge I’ve gained through this fellowship will not only empower me in my personal growth but also enhance my professional capabilities. This program has provided me with a platform to make a positive impact on climate change and the environment, thus leaving a legacy for future generations. Thank you for this remarkable chance to be a part of such a prestigious program. I will forever be indebted to Climate Rustic Leaders for this opportunity.

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Divert Waste from Landfills

Rhea Rawat is a John P. Stevens High School freshman in Edison, New Jersey. Rhea is passionate about solving climate change challenges with innovative solutions and engaging girls in STEM-related fields of study. Rhea embarked on a journey to increase Gen Alpha’s awareness of climate change and to teach them how to build their solution and contribute towards reducing climate change effects.

Project Background & Overview

Gen Alpha is the largest generation in human history with 2 billion estimated people. 87% of Gen Alpha’s parents report that their children influence purchasing decisions. This translates to $500 billion in annual spending. Gen Alpha’s spending habits are fueled by media content, and they have been in the news recently for running over Sephora and other large cosmetic retailers. The products this generation buys, uses, and tosses away are part of the climate change-contributing industries. Current generations must be made aware of climate change and its power to drive industries to change.

This project focused on evaluating middle school students’ awareness of climate change. It aimed to address questions such as: How well do students comprehend the impact of their daily lives on climate change? Do they understand how their consumption habits and waste generation contribute to climate change? What individual actions can they take to divert waste away from landfills? The project also focused on engaging girls in STEM activities. Women make up only 35% of the workforce in STEM-related fields of work. With K-12 students increasing online and media access, fewer students are considering engineering. I needed to engage girls so I could teach them how to build solutions to problems they may encounter in the future.

Project Execution

A survey was conducted to assess the awareness of climate change in middle school students in my township schools. The survey revealed that many students had a basic understanding of climate change but lacked in-depth knowledge. Many were not aware that they contribute to climate change. Those who were aware had no idea how to help prevent it and didn’t know how to do composting or the benefits of composting. Ten middle school girls were selected from this survey to make compost bins through hands-on STEM activities and learned how to make compost.  

The girls felt empowered working with power tools while building their compost bin. Students learned how their buy, use, and toss habits affect climate change. They understood the importance of reuse and how the media’s obsession with the continuous consumption of products is contributing to climate change. 

They learned how to implement composting in their homes and reduce the waste that goes to landfills. They took away how they as kids, can make a change and share their knowledge with friends and families.

Impact

As a result of my project, students felt empowered at a very young age to think and build their solutions for climate change. It was rewarding to see their expressions and hear the students talk about how they directly cause climate change. They understood that we should rethink how we consume natural resources. We discussed other ways that they can help with like reducing water waste, more efficient lawn care, rainwater harvesting, and employing gardening using compost. I plan on expanding the outreach to engage students regularly and help them understand climate change and encourage them to come up with creative actions and solutions at the local level.

Personal Reflection

The Climate Leaders Fellowship provides a valuable opportunity to see the engagement of like-minded high school students globally take action on climate change. It is a window into the passions of the younger generation on this topic and how driven they are to address climate change and impact their community. Through the Climate Leaders Fellowship, I learned how imperative it is to save our only planet. It showed me how a multiplier effect by engaging more students can solve this issue. Maybe we don’t need a mega-government project to solve climate change. Instead, if many people do small, time-tested, easily doable things at home, these millions of actions will result in a better world for us and future generations.

Tips for Others

• Reach out to audiences inclined toward the cause using Google surveys, school bulletin boards, and school parents’ WhatsApp groups. They in turn reach out and influence more people to take these positive actions at their local or home level.
• Hands-on activity engages young people more compared to a show-and-tell type of activity.
• Show the impact their work would have, either through a completed product or a process that they used.
• Plan more time for the hands-on activity than you anticipate as it takes a lot more time. When you have lots of people trying to build something you have to work at a pace that every student is comfortable with.

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Elaa Saïdi

Tunisian Teen Turns Waste Into A Hydroelectric Powerhouse

Hello! My name is Elaa Saïdi and I’m 16 years old. I live in Tunisia, North Africa and I’m a sophomore at the pioneer high school of Ariana (also known as LPA)

I’m an artist, and I love travelling and robotics.

Project Overview

During the last few years, I’ve noticed that the electricity bills skyrocketed at an insane rate. This was, therefore, my main concern, along with water scarcity that became more and more evident. For instance, the annual average of dam water reserves declined from 2575 million cubic metres in 2019 to 791 in 2020, a decrease of over 325% in just one year. 

So naturally, I came up with a solution for both of these issues: a hydroelectric powerhouse that uses waste water. However, it has always existed, hasn’t it? But what hasn’t is one with a specific standard interior whose engine can be any house appliance’s main component, even if it’s “nonfunctional”. Whether it’s a washing machine’s engine, a refrigerator’s compressor or a car alternator, it can be used as the powerhouse’s engine without having to change its structure. And the worst case scenario is adding a single component that can be found in every household.

Despite having other ideas that swirled across my mind, I chose this particular one not only because my project had to revolve around waste management, but also since everything is made out of recycled and/or upcycled items, and the water can be infinitely used over and over.

Project Education and Results

It started with building a prototype and posting about it on social media. Since more and more people in my community and specifically my school engaged with my content, I figured it would be best if I collaborate with several school clubs. And considering it was around Earth Day, we used this opportunity to share statistics and spread more awareness about the environment in general. Hence, along with helping friends and schoolmates become more eco-friendly and direct their attention towards relatively underrated aspects of environmental issues,

I found out that I could recycle nearly 100 grams of plastic bottle caps by making two powerhouses. It’s still almost nothing though, given that I got to give a new life to our old refrigerator, large wooden pieces and many more items. However, the most important thing is that this simple invention can replace your usual outlets, as it can easily generate 220V power.

Personal Reflection

I must admit that this was my first time creating something from scratch, which is something I’m extremely proud of. And I don’t think I would’ve done it any time soon if it wasn’t for this fellowship.

I’m really thankful I had the chance to join, get in touch with like-minded teens, and learn more about myself and the environment.

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Barron Smith

Barron Smith Creates a Full Scale Animal Homing Project

Hello, my name is Barron Smith I am a 16-year-old living in Muncie, Indiana. In the Fall, I will be a Junior at Cowan High School. I live with my parents and three Sisters. Some of my hobbies are running, coin-collecting, history and politics, and bike riding.

Project Background & Overview

One of my other hobbies is fishing. In my community, the nearest fishing spot is 3-miles away. Unfortunately, the places I fish are riddled with trash. This treatment damages the homes of many animals trying to share the space.

Project Execution

I decided to create a combined Woods, Prairie, and Wetland. I completed this all on private land protecting it from trash and abuse. Each day I went out and shaped the land for the wetlands. A hole was dug to initiate a wetland. Then I planted trees for the woods. My goal was to provide a protected home to animals. Also, using flyers, I spread the word about protecting our waterways. I hoped my efforts would reach my target audience of people using these public waterways.

Impact

I volunteered 100-plus hours working diligently on this project. I have witnessed more than 100 plus animals take a home on this land. To name a view of the wildlife that can be seen flourishing in the man-made habitat are; multiple bird species, fish, deer, rabbits, snakes, and frogs. Others have expressed interest in my work. This only aids in educating my community. I worked alongside my uncle to ensure my work was being done to respect his land. Although the outward impact can be measured personally I was also impacted.

Personal Reflection

Working with CLF made me feel like we were making a true difference in our world. Learning about the other projects and their impact gave me a greater appreciation of unity and a larger community. My favorite part of my project was seeing the animals seek refuge and find a home on this land. I also felt satisfaction planning, completing tasks, and watching the real-time progress. This project will continue for many years long past my involvement. It brings a great feeling of pride. I have gratitude to CLF for the platform to share and to learn from others.

Tips for Others

1. Make good transitions from each land type
2. My next tip is to pay attention to time
3. Make a well-thought-out and detailed plan before & ask questions
4. When planting trees, pay attention to spacing
5. Around each tree, leave room for water to reach the roots
6. Make sure to make the walls of the wetlands high enough to hold water
7. Think ahead for what animals might come here and accommodate them (Example: Bird Houses)
8. Leave some room between the project and the road so animals can easily access the land.
9. When rain comes, check on the walls of the wetlands and fix bare spots.
10. Stay committed to the process because you are doing it for a good reason.

Eco-Friendly Clothing Drive

Hello! My name is Katelyn Smittle, and I’m a 17-year-old senior at The Miami Valley School in Dayton, Ohio. I have a deep passion for swimming, running, and biomedical engineering. Recently, I combined my interests with my commitment to environmental sustainability by leading a project aimed at reducing carbon emissions and minimizing waste in my community. Through an eco-friendly clothing drive at my school, I sought to extend the life of clothing, support those in need, and promote sustainable consumption practices within my community.

Project Background & Overview

The goal of my project was to reduce carbon emissions by extending the life of clothing, minimizing waste, and encouraging sustainable consumption practices. Clothing waste is also a major contributor to the Dayton community’s waste management issues. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2020, 85% of all textiles ended up in landfills or incinerators, contributing to both environmental degradation and increased carbon emissions. This waste not only clutters landfills but also represents a lost opportunity to provide necessary items to those in need.

This problem matters to me personally because I have always been passionate about environmental sustainability and helping those in need. Growing up in this community, I have seen the impact of waste and the struggles of the less fortunate. This project allowed me to address both issues simultaneously, providing a meaningful way to give back to my community and promote sustainable living.

Project Execution

For my project, I organized an eco-friendly clothing drive at my high school. This initiative aimed to extend the life of clothing, reduce waste, and promote sustainable consumption practices. We collected gently used clothing from students, faculty, and staff, which were then donated to a local homeless shelter, Saint Vincent de Paul.

The project was strategically designed as a house competition within my high school, which has approximately 100 students divided into four houses of about 25 students each. The house competition was an effective way to maximize participation by offering house points as an incentive. I implemented the project by placing donation bins in a central, common area of the school where students congregate. The bins were prominently displayed to encourage donations and build excitement around the competition.

The target audience for the clothing drive was primarily the students, faculty, and staff at my high school. To engage them, I utilized several strategies:

• Incentivization: The house competition format motivated students to participate by offering house points.
• Education: I educated the participants on the impacts of climate change and the importance of sustainable practices through morning announcements and daily virtual updates.
• Visibility: Placing the donation bins in a central area increased visibility and participation.

Impact

The contributions we collected included:

• Materials: 706 articles of clothing donated by the school community.
• Volunteer Hours: Numerous hours spent by students and faculty in organizing, collecting, and transporting the donations.

The project yielded impressive results:

• Clothing Donation: We donated 706 articles of clothing to Saint Vincent de Paul, significantly supporting their efforts to help the homeless.
• Community Engagement: The drive engaged the entire high school, creating a sense of unity and purpose.
• Positive Feedback: Faculty and students expressed positive feedback and encouragement, appreciating the initiative and its impact.

Personal Reflection

I received significant help and inspiration from other members of my Climate Leaders Fellowship cohort. The program’s weekly Zoom meetings allowed us to share ideas, brainstorm, and overcome challenges together, which was incredibly motivating and supportive.

Participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship made me feel empowered and connected to a global network of changemakers. I am most proud of the tangible impact we made by diverting 706 articles of clothing from landfills to help those in need. The positive reception from my school community and the successful execution of the project were incredibly fulfilling.

Tips for Others

1. Engage the Community Early: Involve local residents from the planning stage to ensure their needs and ideas are considered.
2. Secure Strong Partnerships: Collaborate with businesses, nonprofits, and experts to gain resources and support.
3. Educate and Inform: Offer workshops and educational materials to empower the community with knowledge.
4. Leverage Social Media: Use social media platforms to spread awareness and attract volunteers and donations.
5. Plan for Sustainability: Ensure the project has long-term viability with a maintenance plan and continuous community involvement.
6. Be Adaptable: Stay flexible and open to adjusting your plans based on feedback and challenges.
7. Celebrate Successes: Recognize and celebrate milestones to maintain motivation and community engagement.
8. Document Progress: Keep detailed records of your activities and outcomes to measure impact and inform future projects.
9. Create a Volunteer Network: Build a strong network of dedicated volunteers to support the project.
10. Seek Feedback: Regularly seek feedback from participants to improve and evolve the project.
11. Stay Passionate: Let your passion drive the project, inspiring others to join and support your cause.

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Ohio Teen Reduces Amount of Plastic Bottles That End Up in Landfills by up to 10,000 yearly

Hi, my name is Lucy Spelman and I am 17 years old from Delaware Ohio. I am involved in the performing arts, speech, Model UN, student government, and philosophy/humanities at Olentangy Berlin High School. I’m also involved in community service like food drives and farmers markets through a volunteer organization called Andrews House.

Project Background & Overview

I have been volunteering in my high school concession stand for years, and I took notice of the fact that every plastic bottle and piece of cardboard was thrown away in the trash. My high school sent hundreds of plastic bottles to the landfill every week. When coming up with my CLF project, I thought about the problems I would be capable of solving. I came up with a plan to exponentially decrease the waste produced at every sports game in my school’s stadium by setting up a recycling system.

Since going on an environmental service trip in Central America, which focused on cleaning beaches and water sources used for drinking, cooking, fishing, and bathing, my perspective of the environment and anthropological impacts on it has greatly expanded. I knew that I wanted to serve my community in some way that would have an immediate impact on those around me, in hopes that it will encourage others to do the same beyond just my school.

Project Execution

I placed recycling bins next to trash cans around the football field so that plastic bottles, cardboard trays, and metal cans could be recycled into something new, rather than contributing to waste.

First, I contacted my school principal, head of custodial staff, and environmental club president for permission to implement my project. Next, I contacted just about every surrounding recycling center to find out which stations could take what recycling and when. Finally, I contacted the Delaware County Commissioner of Public Health and Safety to explain my idea. She was all for it, and directed me to the Delaware County Fair, who offered me as many free recycling bins as I needed. I printed and laminated signs to tell people what could be recycled and taped them to each bin. During every sports game on the field, audience members buy concessions and recycle their bottles and cardboard trays in these bins. Since I am in the marching band, I have volunteers gather the bags of recycling from each one of the bins at the end of the game to store overnight. On Saturday mornings, I take the materials to a county transfer station where they can be recycled!

My target audience is the attendants of sports events in the stadium, especially football Friday nights due to their immense turnout every week. I developed this product to run as simply as possible, without the need of a ton of volunteers, but use posters hung around the school and personal connections to reach out to a few people to help gather bags of recyclable materials after every home game.

Lucy dropping off bags filled with bottles and cardboard at the county transfer station to be recycled.

Impact

I was thankfully able to organize my project without the need of funding, and was able to get all of the materials I needed for free. The county fair provided recycling bins, and volunteers are offered service hours if they help collect the recyclables after every football game.

The people who buy concessions have done a really wonderful job at recycling appropriately! 1,200 to 2,000 cold beverages are sold in plastic bottles every Football Friday. Before my project, all of those plastics ended up in the trash. Now, I can proudly say that the majority are recycled, reducing the amount of recyclable materials we contribute to our landfills.

I was able to complete the project under the permission of OBHS principal Benjamin Jagger. I received recycling bins thanks to Delaware County Fair Manager Jennifer McGowan and the workers there. The recycling of these materials is possible thanks to the workers at the Delaware County Transfer Station.

Personal Reflection

When discussing our project ideas with other cohort members, I noticed a trend of people helping their community’s environment through school. Someone brought up the possibility of using service hours as compensation for environmental service volunteers, which I used in the implementation of my own project.

Participating in Climate Leaders Fellowship has made me feel like I am actually making a difference. Being able to physically see the waste we as a school community are reducing is such a satisfying experience. I am very proud of myself and those that contributed to this project for making it happen.

Tips for Others

1. Don’t be afraid to reach out! Despite someone’s intimidating and professional title, they are almost always looking to help you out!
2. Explain the situation: When reaching out to public or school officials for your project, give context for what you are trying to accomplish, so that these people and organizations can better help you to reach your end goal.
3. Send many emails! If the first person or organization you contact cannot help you, ask them if they can refer you to someone else.
4. Ask for help: Your peers will most likely be more than willing to help out with your project. Making posters, sending out information forms, and making announcements at your school or place of work can get you volunteers very quickly.

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Hannah Stein

Project Coffee Cup CLF

Project Coffee Cup

Hello! My name is Hannah Stein, and I’m 15 years old from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have a strong passion for world affairs, tennis, poetry, and art. Recently, I combined my interests with my commitment to environmental sustainability by embarking on a project aimed at reducing waste in landfills, specifically focusing on the impact of non-recyclable coffee cups in my community. Through this initiative, I sought to raise awareness and promote creative ways to reuse these cups, making a positive impact on both the environment and my town.

Project Overview & Implementation

Q: What specific problem were you addressing in your community?

A: The focus of my CLF cycle was reducing waste in landfills and overall bringing awareness to the amount of waste in landfills. The town I live in holds an abundance of coffee shops that are always extremely busy, so I knew I wanted to spread awareness about coffee cups and promote a way to reuse them.

Q: Why does the problem matter to you personally?

A: I had always assumed that coffee cups were recyclable (as an avid coffee consumer), so I figured throwing my cup in the recycling bin was being environmentally conscious. However, I soon found out that the lining within most coffee cups prevents them from being recycled (as the outside of the cup is paper but the lining is plastic), which got me thinking as to how many other people thought this as well.

Q: What did you do for your project?

A: For my project, I decided to upcycle coffee cups from my local Starbucks as a way to promote reusing non-recyclable paper coffee cups.

Q: Where and how did you implement your project? What steps did you take?

A: I first started by placing a collection bin in my local coffee shop and hanging up the signs I had made to raise awareness of my project. This was how I acquired the cups I was going to upcycle, as well as how I spread information about the issue. Then, I cleaned them and planted a variety of basic herbs in the cups to promote keeping the cups out of the landfill. Finally, I went to an Earth Day event and handed out the planters while spreading awareness on the issue and information on my project.

Q: Who was your target audience?

A: My target audience was the residents and coffee consumers in my community, specifically focusing on adults.

Results & Personal Reflection

Q: What were the results?

A: I think the results were positive; the majority of people who read the infographic were surprised to learn that paper coffee cups weren’t recyclable. I hope that this prompted them to get creative with ways to reuse their morning coffee cups.

Q: What organizations/mentors did you work with? How did they help?

A: I worked with a local environmental group called ‘Sustainable Sewickley’, which organized the clean-up where I presented my project and also gave me insight as to where all the coffee cups in town were going. I also met with my school counselors to figure out an effective way to promote awareness about reusing coffee cups and how to execute my idea.

Q: How was participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship?

A: I enjoyed participating in the CLF fall cycle. I loved getting to talk with my group about their projects and future ideas, it was truly inspiring.

Q: What are you most proud of regarding your project?

A: I am most proud of my commitment to the project because initially, it was really hard trying to figure out an effective way to collect the coffee cups and make a large impact on the landfills. Changing my project focus to raising awareness within the community rather than just collecting a lot of cups was much more impactful as a long-term solution.

Q: What are your tips for someone who wants to do a project like yours?

A: My tips for someone who would want to do a similar project would be to just draw out a plan and detail your steps. I know it can be time-consuming but it does help in the future, and it’s something I wish I would have done with my project.

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Diverting Over One Hundred Pounds of Soft Plastic Waste from the Landfill

My name is Corinne Vetter. I live in the Northern Virginia area. I just finished my junior year at Patriot High School. I love to play sports, get outside, and better my community. I am passionate about learning how we can reduce our negative impact on our environment and sharing this with others.

Project Overview

At my school, we are running a collection of soft plastics that will be recycled with the company, NexTrex, who turns these plastics into outdoor composite decking. When my classmates and I implemented this project at our school, I noticed just how much plastic waste we produce. We decided that for our Climate Leaders Fellowship project, that we should extend our collection efforts outside of our school. 

We sent out a survey to community members asking about how much plastic waste they believe they produced each week. It was easy to see that there was a lot of waste. Additionally, only a few households were taking these soft plastics to proper recycling locations. For our project, we ran a soft plastic collection drive in our community that would not only allow us to understand the true amount of waste, but also increase the number of households that properly recycle their soft plastics.

Project Execution

Our first step was to inform our communities about our project through posting on social media groups. We created an infographic that illustrates the types of plastics that are acceptable. After giving about two weeks for the households to save their plastics, we spent seven hours collecting this plastic from over thirty houses. At each house, we weighed the plastic collected. By the end of the day, we had collected 110 pounds of soft plastics.

The next big step was to sort the plastics to ensure that each item was acceptable. This process took the longest as we spent time cutting off many stickers and discarding unacceptable materials. However, through this process, I gained an insight into the biggest contributors of soft plastic waste: grocery bags, plastic mailers, and food packaging. After sorting, we dropped off the plastic at grocery store collection sites where the plastic will be given a new life through NexTrex.

Impact and Results

My group and I are continuing to collect soft plastics from our community and school, with a goal of collecting 1,000 pounds by next spring! 

The Climate Leaders Fellowship gave my group and me the support we needed to implement our project. I also was able to connect with other students who were working on their own projects in their communities. There were lots of exciting ideas that I had never thought of before. Additionally, the Fellowship helped me to build skills that I can use in other aspects of my life, such as collaboration and practicing reflecting and revising my own work. I am proud to be connected to a community that is actively making positive changes in our communities.

Tips for Others

Some key things that I think are important to focus on when developing a project like this are:

1. Ask questions. This can be asking mentors, friends, and most importantly yourself. By asking questions, you can prepare for more scenarios and implement your project smoothly.
2. Make sure to get the word out. It is important to advertise your project in-person and on social media. This helps your project have a bigger impact and helps you to reach people that want to help you.

Lastly, start simple. Taking on a big project can be overwhelming. Try to focus on a problem that you see every day and brainstorm a basic solution that can eventually evolve into something greater.

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