Youth-led Northeast Ohio Climate Summit launches, inspires action

The inaugural NEO Youth Climate Summit presented by Laurel School at Think[box] mobilized young people from across the city to see themselves as changemakers. The student-planned event, featuring activist Xiye Bastida, exemplified the power of collaboration.

Partner organizations – including Global Shapers Cleveland, the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, and Syatt – brought together experts in the field of environmental health to offer interactive workshops, panel discussions and the opportunity to collectively confront social issues and challenges.

The day’s activities ranged from problem-solving simulations of real-world situations to a hands-on fabric mending workshop with Cleveland Sews and lessons in composting provided by Rust Belt Riders. 

In one breakout session facilitated by Environmental Health Watch, students explored the social determinants of health. Each participant was provided with a simulated patient possessing variables such as preexisting conditions and access to greenspace. The activity guided students through the healthcare system landscape while highlighting the root causes of negative health outcomes. 

In another room, Brian Siggers of the Ohio Environmental Council used maps to demonstrate disparities and encouraged students to take direct action to advocate for themselves and our earth. There was truly something for everyone at the event, and the youthful energy reverberated into meaningful conversations. 

“This summit has grown from the seed planted in us students by the Environmental Justice Semester at Laurel School,” said 11^th grader Ivey Williams. “Not only did we learn so much about environmental justice and everything that it encompasses, more importantly, we learned how to stay curious. This semester granted each of us an insatiable thirst for positive change, channeling into a desire to share our passion and empowerment with this community.”

The Environmental Justice Program at Laurel School, led by Angela Yeager, is open to 10^th and 11^th grade girls from any school in Northeast Ohio. 

“Life is rare in the universe, and this is our only home,” said Yeager. She dared students to imagine a brighter future for our planet and to dream of the world they want to create. “When I was your age, events like this didn’t happen in my hometown of Lorain, Ohio, even though scientists knew about climate change.”

A former track and field coach, Yeager likened the current movement to end the climate crisis as a relay race. 

“Adults are running the race with you,” she said. “Youth really have the power to make adults listen and take action.”

Xiye Bastida, the summit’s keynote speaker, urged the scholars in attendance to remind their elected officials: “we vote next!” Bastida, an Indigenous person of Mexican nationality, shared her personal story with the group. 

“I’ve been a climate activist for 10 years before I was born,” she said. Her parents met at a climate summit in 1992. Contaminated floodwaters inundating her hometown during her formative years catalyzed her advocacy work. 

“It really hit close to home,” she said. “I decided that I was going to do everything in my power so that our generation didn’t have to deal with things like these extreme disasters.” 

Her parents’ work with the Center for Earth Ethics brought Bastida’s family to New York City. Bastida’s life forever changed when she was just fifteen years old. In her father’s place, she boarded a plane bound for Kuala Lumpur. There, she addressed the United Nations at the World Urban Form and found the power in her voice. 

“It wasn’t what I said, or how I said it,” Bastida said. “It was the fact that there was a young person speaking at all.”

Upon returning to New York City, Bastida stepped further into the role of organizing, passionately advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples, and using her platform to raise awareness around the issue of environmental degradation. Along the way, she has risen as a prominent figure in the climate movement, earning the admiration of youth right here in Cleveland. 

“There is nothing natural about the disasters we are seeing today,” Bastida told the group in her closing remarks. “We are the last generation that can do something about the climate crisis, and we can make the future beautiful. Change the world. You are powerful. You have agency.”