Madison College hosted the fourth annual Dane County Youth Climate Conference last month. The student led and organized event featured multiple guest speakers, presentations, exhibitor tables and activities.
Organizing the event was the Dane County Youth Environmental Committee, a student driven non-profit made up of high schoolers, UW-Madison students and faculty, older adult volunteers and Madison College biology instructor Armila Aeilts. This year was the second conference held at Madison College and the largest with 215 attendees, 156 of them youth. The attendance at the first conference at Oregon High School had around 75 total attendees.
“Each year students have done more of the organizing,” said Carol Phelps, a Climate Activist who has been involved in the conference since its beginning.
Exhibits set up around the event hall showed numerous examples of student-led organizations from around the state participating in climate activism in their own communities. At one, representatives of the Evansville High School Green Team explained how they raised $65,000 in sponsorships and grants to fund their schools new Solar Panel Array.
Other groups from high school green teams, activist organizations, event sponsors and more had countless displays showing how they became involved and advertising more ways to create change in the future.
The keynote speaker was McKenna Dunbar, Community Engagement Coordinator working for the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club. Dunbar spoke at length about her experiences and career in environmental work, expressing how important it was for youth to participate in climate advocacy. In a Q&A session, students inquired what climate advocacy would look like in the next four years.
Members of the United Nations Association of the USA Dane County chapter, Bob Kihslinger and Sam Romano, talked about the genesis of the conference. Inspired by programs at COP26, discussion in monthly meetings manifested an idea for involving more youth in fighting climate change.
“We wanted to create a forum for young people to get together and exchange ideas about climate and the environment,” Kihslinger said.
Kathy Kuntz, director of the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change, was instrumental in getting the conference set up.
“Couldn’t have accomplished it without her, gave a lot of legitimacy,” Romano said.
Though it started as a local conference focused on Dane county, the event now welcomes people from all over Wisconsin.
Presentations were given by students from Chippewa Falls Green Team and several high schools including Central Sands, DeForest and Monona Grove. Students talked about their efforts including a senior sustainability course, solar panel installations, recycling efforts and more.
Sponsors for the event include Madison Gas and Electric, Alliant Energy, wppi, DCYEC, United Nations Association of the USA Dane County, Dane County Office of Energy and Climate, Youth Action Climate Fund and Madison Area Technical College.
“One of MY favorite things about the conference is that it bridges generations — there are people of all ages involved in this conference, and I think that’s a good glimpse of the kind of collaboration we need to help ensure a bright future for the planet and the people who will inhabit it,” Aeilts said.