The annual event, which began in 2009, brings together high school students from the region to learn — from experts and each other — how to combat climate change’s negative impacts.

The event was started by Zachery Berger, who was a high school student from Lake Placid at the time. Berger was concerned by the lack of opportunities for young people to directly engage with and provide potential solutions to the climate crisis.

“He came to a conference and wondered ‘Why aren’t there any youth here,’ and now here we are 14 years later,” said Elle Eberhardt, climate communications and development coordinator at the Wild Center.

The event has grown.

Emma Kavanagh, left and Campbell Casagrain — both Tupper Lake students — lead a session on how to form a Green Team in schools at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake last Thursday as part of the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit. The Tupper Lake Green Team frequently presents at Tupper Lake Central School District Board of Education meetings. (Provided photo — Emily Lauren Photography)

There were over 140 participants from 22 schools across the North Country in attendance this year, according to Garrett Marino, the youth climate leadership coordinator at the Wild Center.

Marino said having a space to bring young people together is especially important in rural areas, where long distances between communities can make it hard to feel the spirit of collaboration that Marino says is important for young people to feel.

“Even our neighboring towns are 25 or 30 minutes away from each other,” he said. “To be able to offer the space for young people to get to know each other and feel a bit less alone in their pursuit of taking climate action just means the world.”

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The model

Sue Powers, a civill and environmental engineering professor at Clarkson University, leads a session with high school students on energy-efficient action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake last Thursday as part of the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit. (Provided photo — Emily Lauren Photography)

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“I mean we have a lot of fancy language around the summit, but the bottom line is we just try to open up a space for young people to come together and learn,” Marino said.

The first day includes a variety of workshops, plenary sessions and presentations. Students develop climate action plans on the second day, applying what they have learned up to that point at the summit.

“We bring scientists, artists, weaving experts, really anyone who has any skin in the game around climate,” he said. “We’re able to offer their expertise as potential solutions for students to think about and consider. Hopefully, that resonates with students and hopefully some lightbulbs turn on.”

Marino says he was inspired by not just the large number of students that attend each year, but the way they engage with the resources that the summit provides. Students took an active role in their learning, according to Marino.

Tupper Lake High School Student Jack LaQuay reports on the team’s climate action plan at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake last Friday as part of the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit. (Provided photo — Emily Lauren Photography)

“Seeing the students really grapple with the information, and actively think how they can apply it in their own lives, as an educator, that means the world to me,” he said.

It’s not just regional students who have convened — using this summit’s model — to learn about ways to combat climate change.

“The Adirondack Youth Climate program works to empower engage and educate young people not only here in the park but literally all across the world on ways that they can intersect with their communities, schools, family and friends to have a positive impact on the climate,” said Nick Gunn, the Wild Center’s marketing director.

“This summit model has been expanded across the globe. There have been 150 different summits in nine or 10 different countries at this point since it began,” Gunn added.

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Students’ solutions

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He said solutions that students go home with are not one-size-fits-all, and that’s not a problem.

“Seeing what might work, seeing what they can take away and seeing what they might have to leave behind are all part of the learning,” he said, adding that a sustainability measure that might make sense for one student or community might not for another.

Marino said the climate action plans that students came up with this year range from simple things like starting a carpooling campaign into school to composting programs to comprehensive waste audits, in which students are able to keep track of the volume and content of what was being sent to landfills and see if there were any opportunities to reduce the waste.

“We have a lot of sessions focused around what a waste audit and what an energy audit looks like,” he said. “It’s one of those things that feels really complicated but our workshops and sessions that we designed equipped the students to feel comfortable enough that they could do a waste audit at their school.”

He noted that there was continuity and growth from year to year.

“With the composting, we actually had a couple of schools from last year who weren’t quite ready — with all of the logistics and intricacies that not only go into composting itself with the materials but also getting teachers and administrators on board with it — who came back this year and said they were set to begin (composting),” he said.