Written by Taylor Templer, West Central Coordinator It has been very rewarding being the West Central Coordinator for the Youth Eco Solutions (YES!) program over the last 4 years. The experience I received while working for YES! and Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center (PWELC) has been invaluable and I cannot express enough how thankful I am for such an amazing opportunity. Not only
YES! Alumni Spotlight: Emily Giere
Emily Giere went to New London-Spicer Schools where she participated in the YES! program from 2017-2019, as a middle school and high school student. The main projects Emily worked on included changing the light bulbs in the school parking lot to LED and putting together a Community Climate Convening to help members of the community understand what local problems were occurring in relation to
YES! Does it Again with their 15th Annual Fall Summit
Written by Taylor Templer, West Central Coordinator On September 29th YES! teams from across Minnesota gathered at Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center (PWELC) in Spicer for the 15th annual YES! Fall Summit. Over 160 students and coaches were in attendance representing Yellow Medicine East, MACCRAY, Minnewaska, New London-Spicer, Discovery Woods, Parkers Prairie, Springfield,
2021 YES! State Award Winners
On May 19, the 2021 Youth Eco Solutions (YES!) annual Spring Judging took place via Zoom. Spring Judging is when YES! teams get a chance to show off their work by completing a final report and presenting their projects to a panel of judges. After presentations the teams are scored in the following categories: Community Engagement & Impact, Project Planning & Completion, Team Work &
UofM Medical School Climate Justice Lecture Series
By Shelli-Kae Foster As YES! Program Director I was honored to be invited to participate in the kickoff event for the UofM’s Climate Justice Lecture Series on April 28. The focus of the event was “Youth Action: Health & Climate Change.” I was joined by Aaron Rosenblum, 3rd year UMN Medical School and Climate Smart Health Care Co-Chair and Akilah Sanders-Reed, Oil Free Organizer, Power Shift
Lights! Water! Action!
Written by Shelli-Kae Foster, YES! Program Director Over 30 students from New London-Spicer and Minnewaska Area Schools participated in the Lights! Water! Action! Workshop to learn about ways to reduce their energy and water footprint at home. Each participant was given a Home Energy Kit and a Survey to complete with parent/guardian approval and then return to their teacher as proof of