Submitted By Ali Dahmes, West Central YES! Coordinator
The Atwater – Cosmos – Grove City YES! team, made up of four members and one coach, had a very productive year educating elementary students on Arbor Day, educating the public about climate change, retrofitting parking lot light poles to LED, recycling shoes and Christmas lights, and installing a tree trench at their elementary school.
On April 28th (Arbor Day), the ACGC YES! students hosted a climate convening in partnership with Climate Generation to educate their small community about climate change and how it is impacting locals.The night started with dedicating their tree trench project, which was completed last fall, and provided information to the public about how that project benefits the community of Atwater, specifically Tadd Lake. Climate Generation then spoke about climate science and what the community can do to help mitigate negative climate changes. Dylan Erickson from the Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District and Ali Dahmes from Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center/YES! shared their climate stories with the convening’s attendees to drive home the idea that global changes really do affect us locally. The night was wrapped up with desert and social time to discuss issues and answer questions that the guests had. The ACGC YES! Team did an amazing job putting the event together and successfully educating the public on climate change issues.
On top of that, the ACGC YES! team received an award for their tree trench project earlier this year. “The Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District (MFCRWD) Board of Managers instituted a program designed to recognize individuals and groups who have improved or protected local water resources.”
The MFCRWD Project of the Year was awarded to the ACGC YES! team in January of 2017, based on the following criteria:
- Complexity of problem solved/addressed
- The degree of landowner-agency cooperation
- Impact on water quality
- Potential outreach possibilities
- Aesthetic qualities
- Cost per pound of phosphorus removed/prevented
Congratulations to the ACGC YES! team and thank you for all of your hard work to make your small community a better place to live.
