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2025-26 YES Team Projects
Climate Smart St. James
The Climate Smart St. James YES Team has focused on community education and sustainability action. Students completed the CERTs Community Ambassador Training and created a plan to share their knowledge locally.
The team also led a first-time holiday light recycling initiative, collecting 161 pounds of lights and successfully engaging the community in reducing waste.
Crosslake Community
Harbor City International
Harbor City International YES students combine education, service, and community leadership to make a meaningful impact. So far this season, they have taught peers and staff about the importance of bats and raised funds for Bat Conservation International to support the preservation of Brandon Hill Cave in Honduras.
The team also organized a holiday food drive, collecting 300 pounds of needed food for the Duluth community. In addition, YES Team members are planning and hosting a Sustainability Summit at The Depot in Duluth on April 10, bringing people together to learn and take action.
MACCRAY
Mankato West
The Mankato West Team hit the highway for a successful cleanup day. Students worked together to keep our community clean and protect local wildlife. Proud of these awesome change makers!
New London – Spicer High School
The NLS High School YES Team focuses on education, environmental stewardship, and community action. Throughout this season, they have developed and taught a lesson to third graders on behavioral adaptations in nature, highlighting how living things use natural “engineering” to meet their needs.
The team also led a buckthorn removal day in their school’s oak savanna, partnering with the middle school YES team to clear a 50 by 50 yard area and improve the health of the ecosystem. In addition, they organized a community holiday light recycling effort, collecting over 250 pounds of lights to reduce waste.
New London – Spicer Middle School
The NLS Middle School YES Team continues to focus on education, collaboration, and environmental stewardship. Each spring, they support a 4th grade field trip by leading an interactive learning station where younger students explore environmental topics through hands-on activities and games.
The team also partnered with the high school YES Team to organize a holiday light recycling effort, collecting 239 pounds of lights from the community.
In addition, YES students work closely with 5th grade science classes to maintain the school’s native prairie. They teach younger students about its importance, while collecting, preparing, and planting seeds and helping care for the space throughout the year.
Royalton
The Royalton YES Team focused on hands-on learning, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. They taught 2nd graders about plants and pollinators, guiding them in making seed bombs to plant at home. Students also explored future careers through an interactive activity led by a CERTs educator.
The team strengthened their environmental knowledge and teamwork during a visit to Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center. They put their learning into action by completing a prairie clean-up, where 26 students removed 20 pounds of trash to improve habitat conditions.
Additionally, the team planted three apple trees in their native prairie to support pollinators and promote healthy, sustainable growth around their school.
Watertown-Mayer
The Watertown-Mayer YES Team focuses on waste reduction and sustainability within their school community. They developed a composting initiative by working with local officials and creating educational posters to raise awareness about composting.
The team also contributed to building a bench made from recycled plastic, demonstrating creative reuse of materials. In addition, they organized a marker recycling effort to reduce waste and promote environmentally responsible habits.
Westbrook Walnut Grove
The WWG Earth YES Team focused on sustainability, community engagement, and environmental education. They harvested apples from trees planted five years ago and served fresh apple juice to students and staff while teaching the process from fruit to juice.
The team led a school-wide community clean-up to reduce litter and raise awareness about its environmental impact. They also launched a new Earth Month initiative featuring themed events like “Black-Out” Day and “No Cars” Day to encourage waste reduction and sustainable habits.
In addition, the team organized a holiday light recycling drive, collecting 12 pounds of lights, and showed appreciation for community supporters by hosting a thank-you meal and creating gift baskets for families who helped maintain local gardens.