2022 Pittsburgh Youth Climate Action Summit - A Tremendous Success!
Written by Katie Modic - Executive Director
On April 30th, 2022 over eighty Pittsburghers convened at the region’s second annual Youth Climate Action Summit held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center hosted by Communitopia with support from The Education Partnership for a day of inspiring presentations, breakout sessions, and planning aimed at increasing regional knowledge and youth-led leadership toward climate action. The Summit kicked off with the Summiteers Rebecca Carter (senior at CAPA), Jay Darjee (8th grader at Carmalt), Emilie Chiriatti (6th grader at ECS), and Aidan Graham (6th grader at ECS) welcoming the audience and providing a brief Loal Climate Change 101 presentation. The Summiteers then introduced the Keynote Speaker, City of Pittsburgh Mayor, Ed Gainey.
Ed Gainey poses with students and teachers from South Fayette
Mayor Ed Gainey and Summiteers Rebecca Carter, Jay Darjee, Aiden Graham, and Emilie Chiriatti
Mayor Gainey was keen to share with the youth his ideas surrounding the inevitable “struggle” involved with fighting for change. He encouraged the audience to find joy in the struggle, as the struggle will always be present and we can use it to our advantage. He also shared the motivating metaphor that the youth leaders present are teachers and it’s their responsibility to provide education to their community by working alongside their neighbors/peers and sharing knowledge in a judgment-free manner.
Participants in the morning Defining our Diversity Breakout Session
After the Mayor spoke the attendees were invited into their morning breakout sessions. Participants chose between three different interactive presentations. Rebecca Widener-Weston and Moses Wamalwa from Alliance for the Climate Emergency (ACE) presented a session called Your Chance to Act: Gas Projects in Western PA. Participants learned about LNG (liquid natural gas) projects that are under development right in our region and that completing these facilities threatens to emit thousands of tons of pollution and greenhouse gasses every year. Folks were encouraged to join with other youth in ACE's Youth Action Network as they plan to stop these developments. Student leaders Claire Bertolet, Ilyas Khan, and Mahitha Ramachandran from the Pittsburgh Youth Climate Council ran a breakout called A Student's Guide to Being a Youth Activist. Participants were walked through how to balance being a student and an activist. Presenters shared their own personal activism stories and students left with a better understanding of time management and tips to get them started with their own activism paths. The third session, Defining our Diversity, was facilitated by Communitopia’s own Climate Action Team Leaders Grace Reynolds and Levi McGraw-Sapp. Participants identified their unique personal experiences of the effects of climate change in their lives and then reflected with table-mates about differences and similarities. Each person left with a more open mind about how we all live through the global experience of climate change in different ways.
During the catered lunch as well as during scheduled breaks, Summit participants engaged with interactive tables in the lobby. The Woodland Hills Green Team provided a Climate Ribbon Tree, an interactive art installation asking participants to tie a ribbon on the tree naming one thing they are concerned they might lose to climate change. The tree had been housed at the Woodland Hills High School during the month of April and will travel to Harrisburgh this June for the Climate Convergence. In addition, James Jenkins from The Education Partnership provided a table full of STEM activities related to environmental themes and climate education. Finally, Annie Deely from Reimagine Jobs invited participants to enter their annual essay contest titled: Your Sustainable Future. Winners will be provided cash prizes by creating an entry that answers the question: How do you imagine your future career path creating a more sustainable world?
Woodland Hills Green Team’s Climate Ribbon Tree
The Education Partnership’s STEM table
Summiteers Aiden Graham, Senator Lindsey Williams, and Summiteer Rebecca Carter
The afternoon commenced with the second round of interactive breakout sessions. Many participants joined Educator Mark Williams from Awaken Pittsburgh and Project Wayfinder for a rejuvenating workshop, Mindfulness for the Revolution. During this session, participants gained an understanding of skills necessary for sustained commitment to environmental political action—empathy, self-care, and hope. In a neighboring room, Tiffany Allen from Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh ran a session on Environmental Justice 101. Aside from learning about important ways to get involved with the issue, participants enjoyed group games and activities to get them energized about tackling environmental justice! The third breakout session was facilitated by Senator Lindsey Williams and youth leader Vidhur Senthil. Participants engaged in conversations around climate activism education and bringing energy efficiency to Harrisburgh.
After a short break, the entire group convened again for the final Climate Action Planning session led by Communitopia’s Director of Education, Mark Reardon. Everyone present drafted their own Climate Action Plan following Communitopia’s framework for action. Participants were encouraged to join Pittsburgh Youth for Climate Action on May 9th to follow up on any actions taken and/or to meet with other youth and collectively take action together.
Overall, the event was a tremendous success. Participants report feeling more knowledgeable, more motivated, and better prepared to take action on climate change as a result of attending the summit. As Communitopia’s Youth Educator Lauren Palamara so eloquently shared during the opening remarks, “Youth empowerment and leadership is at the core of everything we do at Communitopia and we believe that climate justice cannot be achieved without youth”. We intend to host another Summit next year and hope you will attend!
Of course, events like this are not possible without the generous support of funders. The event was made possible through the financial support of Epic Metals in Braddock and The Heinz Endowments.
