Carbondale’s Wild Rose Education is directing the first annual Colorado Youth Climate Summit at the Third Street Center, May 2-3, and is “powered’ by Lyra Colorado, according to Sarah Johnson, founder of Wild Rose Education. Many climate action and justice experts from governmental and non-governmental organizations will lead engaging workshops and plenary talks with participating youth.
Johnson, who is also the director of the Colorado Youth Climate Summit, plans to bring together approximately 75 young people (high school aged) to discuss and propose climate solutions. Participants are expected from as far as Southwest Colorado and the Front Range.
“This is a first-time event at a state-wide scale,” explained Johnson. Fresh meals and lodging will be provided. In fact, Roaring Fork High School will open its gym for participants to camp out, along with adult supervision, so as to keep the conversation and networking going around the clock.
Through the summit, Johnson hopes to inspire rural Colorado communities to be more eco-conscious and to make genuine changes toward that end. And it starts with the summit’s participants, who she’ll encourage to travel green — and rather than commuting solo, to carpool or take public transportation to the two-day event.
The Third Street Center is not only a centralized point geographically, but the building itself also suits the theme — having climate-conscious attributes, from being a restored building (originally the Carbondale Elementary) to its rooftop solar array, refillable water stations and plans to develop a geothermal heating system. Plus, Carbondale offers numerous examples of climate-impact projects youth can inspire in their own communities, such as the Carbondale Bike Project or the new Downtowner service.
Johnson described how youth often feel “eco-anxiety” when it comes to the future of the planet, and that the climate crisis, unfortunately, is their burden to bear. But young people just might have the power to convince their elders to help protect future generations, including their own.
“For people to pass the buck is not okay,” said Johnson, but that is a reality the next generation may face. Young people are one part of the solution, she added, but climate action can only become a solution if everyone works together.
“It’s a people issue,” said Johnson. “If this was a technical science issue, we would have solved it decades ago. Now, we need serious actionable governmental and corporate commitments and accountability to minimize greenhouse gas emissions on a very broad scale.
“Earth is pretty resilient if we consider it in geologic timescales. People today are having to adapt to this changing climate out of survival mode; and this will continue into future generations if we don’t collectively change how we operate as communities, corporations and governments. Participating in this Youth Climate Summit will inspire agency and urgency within the realistic context of Colorado.”
Youth participants will be able to get started on checking at least one box toward receiving Colorado’s Seal of Climate Literacy, which can be reflected on a high school diploma and comes with an additional cord to don at graduation. The seal came out of the state’s 2024 legislative session. To obtain the seal a student must take a science class, an additional climate-literacy focused course and fulfill a relevant experiential project.
Despite the General Assembly’s decision, school districts can choose whether to opt into the diploma endorsement program or not. Currently, Diana Buirgy, a science teacher at Glenwood Springs High School, along with others, is advocating for the seal to be offered to Roaring Fork School District graduates.
Speaking more broadly, she stated, “I think everybody will be impacted even if they haven’t felt it yet,” stressing that climate change is real and is happening now.
Addison Godes, a student at Glenwood Springs High School and a Colorado Youth Climate Summit Leadership Team member, echoed the call to action. “It is critical that everyone does what they can to mitigate the damage,” she said. Highschoolers care, young people care, she continued, and this summit offers them an opportunity to promote change in the world they will grow up to lead.
The soft deadline to apply for the Colorado Youth Climate Summit is March 1. For more information and the apply, visit www.coyouthclimatesummit.org