YES! Quarterly

Fall/Winter 2015

Greetings,

The last few months of 2015 included two successful Fall Summits, welcoming two new YES! Coordinators, reconnecting with a YES! alumna, announcing a new collaboration with Climate Generation, and hearing a Coordinator's thoughts on her visit to the COP21 climate negotiations.

As we reflect back on 2015 and anticipate 2016, we would like to take a moment to say THANK YOU for your support this past year. We value you and look forward to what we will accomplish together in 2016. We at YES! wish you and yours a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

Sincerely,

The YES! Staff

Fall Summits a Success

The air was electric with the excitement of 240 students and coaches at the 8th annual Fall Summit, held at Saint John's University on September 30th. This excitement was echoed two weeks later on October 14th as 76 students and coaches attended the 2nd annual Northeastern YES! Fall Summit at Laurentian Environmental Center. At both events staff from Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy gave the keynote address, educating students about climate change and encouraging the students to work together to mitigate the effects of climate change through their energy action projects. Energy conservation, waste reduction, and renewable energy experts provided guidance and expertise throughout the day at each event while students explored climate change, possible projects, and other resources.

Read more about the Fall Summits at Saint John's University and at Laurentian Environmental Center.

YES! Welcomes New Coordinators

YES! has two new faces to introduce to all of you! Kory and Sarah recently began their work as YES! Coordinators.

Sarah Hayden Shaw

Sarah Hayden Shaw is the North-Central YES! Coordinator. Sarah also coordinates the Central Region of the Clean Energy Resource Teams and looks forward to using her knowledge as a former high school teacher and Certified Energy Manager to inspire and educate her teams. Read more about Sarah .

Kory Klebe

Kory Klebe is the YES! Coordinator for the West-Central YES! Teams. He is the Environmental Education and Shooting Sports Coordinator at Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center and is now adding YES! to his list of duties at PWELC! Kory says he is "excited to be joining this wonderful program." Read more about Kory.

Alumna Spotlight

Grace Brosnan, a member of the Mankato West YES! team from 2012-2014, shares what YES! has meant to her:

YES! alumna Grace Brosnan reflects on YES!

While in YES!, I helped make changes to my school that made it a more environmentally sustainable place. We switched out our disposable Styrofoam lunch trays for reusable ones, implemented composting in ours and other school lunch rooms, installed water bottle fillers throughout the school, and distributed reusable water bottles to the student body.

I learned a lot of skills that seem simple, but are ultimately very important, like taking good notes at meetings, having clear communication in groups, and using spreadsheets and other online tools in an effective manner.

I continue to be involved in climate justice work in Minnesota. YES! taught me of the importance of young people in working for change, and of the power and responsibility that I, as a young person, have in building a better world.

I enjoyed meeting others through YES! who valued the environment. It was empowering to know that I wasn't alone in wanting to do something about climate change.

Partnership with Climate Generation

YES! is excited to announce a collaboration with Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy through the generous support from the McKnight Foundation to bring climate literacy to YES! students across greater Minnesota.

Jenna Totz and Kristen Poppleton of Climate Generation gave the keynote at the YES! Fall Summits

Throughout the school year, YES! will combine our expertise in project planning along with Climate Generation's knowledge on climate change to bring about energy action projects that students can learn while doing!

Students will also have the opportunity to host a climate change community event tailored to their region to raise awareness about climate adaption and mitigation strategies. YES! and Climate Generation hope this all adds up to building resilient communities across Minnesota!

Did You Know...

One of our YES! Coordinators, Sarah Gainey, recently traveled to Paris for the COP21 climate negotiations as part of the delegation from Saint John's University and the College of Saint Benedict, which had observer status for COP21. She reflects on the experience on our blog.

In This Issue

YES! Fall Summits

New Coordinators

Alumna Spotlight

Climate Generation

Did You Know...

Quick Links

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YES! empowers youth to partner with their community to create economic and environmental vitality through hands-on learning and team-based projects.

YES! provides a unique opportunity for students to learn by engaging directly in community efforts that lead to dramatic demonstrations of renewable energy technology and conservation practices and exposes them to how science is applied in real life.

YES! Program Partners

Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center

Program Funders

Do you know a school that would like to host a YES! team?

Contact us to connect with a coordinator in your region and become a part of the YES! network!