Youth for the Environment and People! — North Cascades Institute

Read the 2022 Youth for the Environment and People (YEP!) cohorts' essay "Composting as a climate solution" in Salish Currents!

We are partnering with RE Sources, an environmental organization in Bellingham, to run a cohort of the Youth for the Environment and People! (YEP!) program this Fall.

YEP! provides an opportunity for students to share ideas and passions, learn about climate change solutions, engage in local stewardship projects, and work together with other youth in choosing, planning, and implementing a group action project. Example actions could be engaging in a public education project, identifying a sustainable practice to be implemented in their community, finding ways to scale up efforts for emission reductions, or volunteering with a local ecosystem restoration project.

The cohort model allows teens to meet teens from other schools who are also committed to environmental action, empowering and amplifying their voices.

Institute staff will meet with a cohort of teens from Skagit County once a week for 10 weeks from October until December, mentoring them in taking environmental action in their home community. Institute staff will also facilitate service projects for both the Skagit and Whatcom County cohorts. Students will be transferring what they learned about climate change from their Youth Leadership Adventures trips into action in the YEP! Program, making this a natural next-step opportunity for YLA alumni.

This innovative partnership serves as an example of collective action between environmental organizations, leveraging the strengths and resources of both organizations to achieve more impact in broadening services and providing knowledge to the surrounding area.