Desired outcomes for YEA! MN youth participants include:

• Climate change literacy from an interdisciplinary and factual perspective
• Sense of empowerment and belief in one's ability to affect change
• Passion for continued engagement on climate change and the environment
• Wider network of peers with which to collaborate
• Wider pool a resources to draw from to support continued engagement

YEA! MN student participates in letter writing campaign in support of Clean Air Act legislation	Mahtomedi High School students work with community leaders to raise the Zephyr Wind Turbine on campus

The YEA! MN program structure, designed to support hands-on leadership training through student-led facilitation and peer mentorship, includes the following:

• A Youth Steering Committee with students representing a variety of schools across the Metro
• Two student chairs voted in every school year by their peers
• Four large meetings, planned and facilitated by the Steering Committee, held at different high school locations across the Twin Cities, targeting high school youth, focused on a specific theme. Examples include:
  • Climate Change Basics
  • Climate Policy and Youth Engagement
  • Environmental Justice and Global Connections
  • Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solutions
• Opportunities to engage in other happenings throughout the year (i.e. annual Earth Day and Lobby Day events)

High school students gather to share strategies on youth-led action projects	YEA! MN Steering Committee members table at the 350.org 'Get to Work Day' in Minneapolis

WSF understands youth empowerment to include access to both relevant and tangible resources and opportunities for experiential learning through authentic student leadership. The YEA! MN program provides the following resources available to all participating schools and student leaders:

• Mentorship from peers and qualified adults in the environmental field
• Project Resources for student environmental clubs including educational content, fundraising opportunities and contacts for potential speakers
• Access to policy makers, legislative briefings, lobby days, and in-district meetings
• Youth leadership development through dynamic trainings and conferences
• Opportunities to participate in action on climate change beyond the high school campus

YEA! MN High School junior lobbies MN Senator Paulson in Washington DC on behalf of climate legislation	Edina High School students celebrate funding for their recycling initiative

The Will Steger foundation has been a key ally in building the youth climate moment across the Midwest. Since 2007 WSF has been actively working with partner organizations across the generational spectrum to support youth climate leadership across the region. This includes a robust network of youth organizations and a close relationship with the RE-AMP network, a coalition of over 120 environmental non-profit organizations and Foundations across the Midwest.

WSF has played a key role in connecting Midwest youth organizations with RE-AMP funding opportunities, specifically in regards to RE-AMP 'Allies' Funding through the Global Warming Strategic Action Fund. This includes outreach and engagement to strategic youth allies, mentorship on grant proposals, and facilitation of regional communication among Midwest youth applicants to foster a coordinated approach to the RE-AMP funding opportunity. The following is a list youth initiatives funded by RE-AMP in 2011. WSF is proud to support these vibrant initiatives and recognizes the critical role they play in the larger environmental movement.

Global Exchange: Green Economy Leadership Training, Detroit, MI

Global Exchange's Green Economy Leadership Training (GELT) program educates, engages and empowers youth to be active agents of change in building the necessary clean energy, green economy future. The program trains youth and community members in practical skills that will empower them to improve their communities, such as environmental justice, energy conservation, renewable energy, green building technology, water conservation, waste diversion (recycling and composting), urban agriculture and food security and urban forestry. Seizing the opportunity to begin a new era of organizing, the GELT program deploys community-based solutions that break from conventional thinking and puts the emphasis on empowering individuals and communities.

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Little Village Environmental Justice Organization: Neighborhood Transit Access

Little Village environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) has created the coalition 'Communities for a 31st Bus Route' to advocate for transit access for 6 different Chicago neighborhoods, including Little Village (noted as one of the top 6 most polluted areas in the Chicago Metro), and to serve a ridership of over 100,000 people, mostly low-income. Along with a dozen diverse partners, the transit access campaign engages local youth through LVEJO programming in leadership training, community outreach, and grassroots organizing. The campaign will target key legislators and seeks to save up to 500 tons of C02 per year.

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Grand Aspirations: Our Power Campaign, Minneapolis/Iowa City

Grand Aspirations is expanding its Our Power campaign in South Minneapolis, MN and replicating it in Iowa City, IA. The campaign focuses on building diverse alliances in support of energy efficiency and clean energy at the neighborhood and city level and integrating implementation of energy efficiency and clean energy with movement building. Our Power unites local youth, community groups, and businesses from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds in support of a clean energy economy. Local and national youth leaders will act as community energy leaders to engage 500 residents and 50 businesses in Minneapolis, and 125 residents and 10 businesses in Iowa City, in energy efficiency and clean energy measures.

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Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group: Energy Service Corps Program

Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) is in the second year of its Energy Service Corps Program launched in partnership with Americorps. Through direct citizen outreach and partnerships with local institutions the program engages youth leadership at the University of Wisconsin Steven's Point and the University of Wisconsin Madison in reaching diverse constituencies with demonstrations, presentations, and home inspections that highlight the potential of efficiency to save energy, save the environment and save money. Student "Energy Efficiency Ambassadors' will encourage residents to conduct subsidized energy audits and home weatherization.

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Minnesota Public Interest Research Group: Minnesota Youth Alignment

Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) seeks to engage it's statewide youth network in support of the following 3 key campaign areas funded by RE-AMP for member organizations in Minnesota. Solar Works for Minnesota: MPIRG will leverage it's relationships of three University of MN campuses to push to legislature for guaranteed pricing for public buildings that develop solar and other renewable energy resources. Defend Clean Energy Laws and Regulations: MPIRG will engage, educate and mobilize it's student network in defense of Minnesota's clean energy policy foundation. Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled: MPIRG will launch an education and advocacy campaign targeting Duluth Transit Authority and push for transit solutions that better serve the needs of student riders.

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Illinois Student Environmental Coalition: Chicago Coal Campaign

Illinois Student Environmental Coalition seeks to continue its collaboration with the Chicago Clean Power Coalition (CCPC) to retire two existing coal plants in the city. The campaign is at a critical juncture and support from students is essential to advancing the work of the coalition. ISEC has been key to the CCPC movement over the past year and will continue to work with the Coalition to empower and engage it's state network of student leaders to effectively target the Mayor of Chicago and City Council.

More Info...

Learn More about other areas: Local • National • International • Back to Emerging Leaders Midwest 

Since 2007, WSF has been actively working with partner youth organizations across the Midwest in building a unified regional youth coalition. What began as a loose network of 10+ youth organizations, programs, and initiatives has blossomed into a formal youth network representing all of the Upper Midwest states from Indiana to the Dakotas. The Midwest Youth Coalition is working to foster strategic cross-collaboration across the region and between states on specific focus areas including coal, tar sands, fracking, agriculture, political engagement and building the clean energy economy.

WSF continues to support this vibrant Coalition through direct mentorship, logistical support, access to policy makers and leaders in the non-profit community, and funding opportunities through the REAMP network. We believe in the power of young people, leading from the heart of the country, to build the clean and just energy future we need to see here in the US and across the globe.

States active in the MW Youth Coalition include IN, OH, IL, MO, MI, WI, MN, IA, ND, and SD	MW Youth Coalition members chart a timeline of activism at the RE-AMP Annual Meeting in Chicago

 

Learn More about other areas: Local • National • International • Back to Emerging Leaders Midwest 

While the bulk of our youth work is focused on the Midwest region, the Will Steger Foundation is also committed to engaging and empowering youth leadership on the national stage. This includes access to policy makers and high profile leaders in the non-profit/for-profit sector and academia, information and resources related to climate legislation, and opportunities to participate in national conferences and trainings.

 

Learn More about other areas: Local • Midwest • International • Back to Emerging Leaders Overview 

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Ellesmere Island Expedition – 2008

In March 2008, an international team of six emerging leaders, ages 21-28, joined Will Steger on a 1,400-mile dogsled expedition across Ellesmere Island. Hailing from four countries: Norway, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States, the young team followed in the footsteps of legendary polar explorers and journeyed to the remains of the summer sea ice and ice sheets on the brink of collapse. Traveling through the dramatic scenery of the far north the expedition team recorded a youth eyewitness perspective on the impact global warming has had on the northern coast of the third largest and northernmost island in the Canadian Arctic.

The 2008 Ellesmere Island Expedition inspired and mobilized the new generation of adventurers and eyewitnesses to global warming by capitalizing on the excitement, authenticity, and adventure of Will Steger’s expeditions to create interest, and action on climate change. Weekly dispatches from team members provided authentic reflections on climate change from a generational perspective and created a powerful role model for their peers.

Expedition Copenhagen – 2009

Will Steger Foundation undertook a year-long focus on the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the goal of supporting youth climate leadership to increase public awareness and investment in US participation.

Expedition Copenhagen delegates were recruited through contacts made on The Longest Summer Tour and through partnerships with organizations such as Global Exchange in Michigan and Indigenous Environmental Network in North Dakota, members of the Midwest Climate Strategy Coalition.

A core program of the Will Steger Foundation, YEA! MN supports a network of high school environmental clubs working together across the Twin Cities Metro Area to empower student leadership on climate change solutions at home, at school, and in the wider community. The YEA! MN network includes 25+ public, private and charter high schools from a cross-section of urban and suburban districts.

Key Partners

Learn More about other areas: Midwest • National • International • Back to Emerging Leaders Overview 

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Believing in the vision, collaborative spirit, and sheer numbers of the ‘Millennial’ generation, the Will Steger Foundation has launched the Emerging Leaders Program in support of the growing youth climate movement, across the U.S. and around the world, with a specific focus on Minnesota and the Midwest. Our investment in youth leadership is a direct reflection of our commitment to citizen engagement and grassroots mobilization as a means to solving the climate crisis.

The Emerging Leaders Program targets young people ages 15-30. Incorporating the core values of youth leadership, peer-mentorship, ownership, justice and collaboration, the Emerging Leaders program aims to educate, empower, and engage a new generation of climate leadership on a local, regional, national, and international scale.

While a national and international reach is integral to our programming our two core focus areas include:

• Local high school student engagement in the Twin Cities Metro Area
• Youth engagement across the Midwest