As another successful year of Youth at the Center comes to a close, we thought we’d reflect on the path we have followed during the 2022-2023 academic year. Youth at the Center has been a two pronged project this year: in-person storytelling workshops and virtual meetings with youth climate activists in New York City.
One of the major successes of the year was conducting in-person workshops with elementary, middle, and high school students as a way to increase the visibility of the program, expose more students to climate change activism, and reach schools which may be underrepresented in climate activism spaces. School affiliates were enthusiastic about collaborating with Youth at the Center, with many teachers and sustainability coordinators reaching out to our team in the early stages of the project. This allowed us to work closely with these schools to tailor our workshops to their student populations and specific needs.
After months of planning, CSF Zankel Fellows Mac Mann-Wood, María Huertas-Trujillo, and Sarah Lewis implemented their first in-person storytelling workshop at the Brooklyn Green School. The three Zankel Fellows worked together to plan a full lesson of play, collaboration, and critical thinking for Ms. Reina’s three 6th grade eco-activism classes. The students were a lively group, alternating between excited hand-waving and barely restrained calling out answers. In each class, students began brainstorming how to share their experiences with climate change.
The Zankel Fellows prompted discussion through focused questions to jog the students’ memories: “What are some things that we [humans] do that negatively impact the environment?” and “What do you notice changing about the environment from last year to this year?”
(Figures 1 and 2: CSF Zankel fellows lead student workshops in classrooms; Figure 3: Example slide from presentation to students)
(Figure 4: 10th- 11th grade student product, Dr. Izquierdo Health & Sciences School, Bronx, NY )
Since the initial workshop at Brooklyn Green School, YATC has conducted 6 workshops, reaching approximately 135 students ranging in age from elementary school to high school seniors. Each workshop has looked a little different, but connected around the theme of youth perspectives on climate change in New York City. Students are encouraged to think outside the box when considering what medium to submit; mediums submitted so far include abstract art, body maps, poetry, long-form essays, PowerPoint presentations, videos and more. The stories students have contributed are posted on the digital storytelling map (link) which acts as a living archive of youth voices in NYC related to the climate crisis.
(Figure 5: Conversations about Climate Storytelling Map)
In addition to in-person workshops, Youth at the Center has continued hosting weekly meetings with an active cohort of high schoolers, hosting a successful in-person workshop, supporting their activism, and hosting training webinars. We look forward to continuing to work with youth, teachers, and sustainability coordinators in New York City during the coming year!
Are you a young person, high school teacher, or sustainability coordinator interested in participating with Youth at the Center? Email Mac Mann-Wood at mm6085@tc.columbia.edu with the subject line “Youth at the Center”.