Seattle Youth CAN! Engaging Youth in Climate Action Through Local Collaboration October 25th 2016

Seattle Youth Climate Action Network Today’s Talk: Overview of Seattle Youth CAN model Local collaboration Youth leadership Action campaigns Youth climate summit Lesson from our first two years Where we are headed Questions

Why Youth? Why Climate Change? Research by The Ocean Project and others has shown that: “Youth are the most knowledgeable about, and most willing to act for, environmental causes.” “Young people know there are problems, and are motivated to act. However, they are unsure what they can do to change things.” Teens know CC is a huge and are motivated to do something, but are unsure of how to make chance

Next generation of conservation leaders Teens as conservation interpreters and zoo ambassadors = ZooCorps Teens take action as conservation leaders = Seattle Youth CAN

Seattle Youth Climate Action Network Seattle Youth Climate Action Network empowers teens to address climate change in their communities through education, leadership, and action Connecting teens with peers and local experts with support from trusted cultural institutions

What makes our model unique? Youth driven action Local collaboration & community support Youth voices

Seattle Youth Climate Action Network Short term participant impacts Increased climate literacy Increased engagement in climate actions Increased leadership skills Community impacts: Youth perspective a benefit to local agencies and orgs, strengthened partnership between institutions

Partnership

Why Partner? Partnership Leverage collective resources Access for broader audiences Increases visibility Collaboration on common areas of focus (Youth + Climate Change)

Community Collaboration Strengthening local relationships for our institutions, amplifying our commitment to conservation and fighting climate change

Community Collaboration Direct contact with and support from local leaders

Youth Leadership Supporting teens through leadership with purpose- planning actions, organizing summits

Youth Driven Action Positioning youth as action drivers, giving them the tool to create change,

Transportation Challenge In 2016, teen challenge participants logging 7,513 miles of not driven alone, which equals 3,214 pounds of CO2 saved

Training

Lessons Learned

Youth Climate Action Summit 100 teens and 20 community leaders participated in the full day summit at Woodland Park Zoo on Oct. 2nd

Future of Seattle Youth CAN Community Advisory Group Refine our local model Expanded Outreach Explore possibilities for national youth climate network How to sustain initial enthusiasm? What does collaboration look like long term? How to reach teens not already engaged?

Join Us Follow us: @seattleyouthcan Join us: www.seattleyouthcan.org Where do we go from here? Follow us! Follow us: @seattleyouthcan Join us: www.seattleyouthcan.org Contact us: seattleyouthcan@zoo.org

Questions?