On Sunday, May 14, 2023 - students from Youth Eco Solutions (YES!) assembled near home plate and watched themselves on the Jumbotron, waiting nervously for the announcer to reveal the results of the annual YES! Competition. Twins mascot T.C. Bear stood by, eager to celebrate with the winners. The 2023 State Champion, and receiving $500, was the Royalton YES! Team. During the school year, over 40
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Farewell and Thank You, Mary Beth Botz!
YES! would like to congratulate Mary Beth Botz, Sleepy Eye YES! co-coach, on her upcoming retirement! During the last 13 years, Mary Beth guided nearly 200 YES! students from St. Mary’s Catholic School to successfully complete numerous team projects in partnership with Sleepy Eye Public School students and co-coach Deb Reinarts. When asked about her favorite coaching memory, Mary Beth said
Welcoming a New YES Director, Kalley Pratt
From Jennifer Swenson, PWELC Executive Director I'm excited to announce the hiring of Kalley Pratt as the new Director of Youth Eco Solutions. Kalley's first day in her new position will be May 1, 2023. As you know, Youth Eco Solutions (YES) is a statewide program empowering youth to create solutions to today’s ecological challenges through hands-on action projects. Kalley will assume
Southern Minnesota YES! Teams Learn About the Problems with Plastic and How to Reduce Waste
Recent workshops in Sleepy Eye (March 30) and Mankato (April 5) prepared YES! students with knowledge, activities, and resources about reducing waste at home, at school, or in their community. Participating schools were Sleepy Eye Public, St. Mary's Catholic (Sleepy Eye), Mankato East, Mankato West, and Westbrook-Walnut Grove. At both workshops, Jane Dow from Mankato Area Zero Waste taught
“Students Working Together: Energy Actions at School” Virtual Workshop with CERTs
During the March 1, 2023 virtual workshop, “Students Working Together: Energy Actions at School,” presenters Jake Selseth and Alexis Troschinetz from Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) taught middle school and high school students from central and western MN about ways their YES! team can help their school become more energy efficient. Jake kicked off the workshop with an introduction
Duluth Students Attend YES! Water Quality Workshop
On February 28, 2023, students from the Youth Eco Solutions (YES!) team at Harbor City International School dove into the topic of water quality during a full-day workshop where local experts taught them about threats to water quality in Duluth and actions that can protect aquatic ecosystems. Ryan Granlund, Duluth Utility Programs Coordinator, spoke about stormwater programs before taking the
