Help Us Plan a Youth Climate Congress!

Matt Henchen

The Vermont Youth Lobby is working with members of the Sunrise Movement and the Vermont Climate Caucus (a group of Vermont lawmakers who are committed to climate action) to organize a Youth Climate Congress.  The goal of this event is to bring together 150-200 youth representatives (with an emphasis on under-represented and frontline communities), 20-30 Vermont lawmakers, community climate activists, and the media together to draft, refine and endorse a unified message — in the form of a resolution — to Vermont lawmakers that they must do more to address the climate crisis. We hope this event will send a strong message to the legislature that we expect to see serious and comprehensive action to address climate change this legislative session – no more waiting. In order for this event to be a success, we will need to do quite a bit of planning and outreach.  We have called for […]

Check Out These Amazing Opportunities this Fall!

Matt Henchen

UVM Extension/ 4-H Program has a lot of opportunities for students this Fall. Registration now open! www.uvm.edu/extension/youth/announcements   Between a Rock and a Soil Place (VTeen 4-H Science Cafe) – register by September 25 Learn about soil, the building block of ecosystems, at the first teen science cafe of the year. Register by next Wednesday, September 25. This program is FREE.   Youth Environmental Summit – register by Oct 18 YES is an annual conference for students in grades 6-12 what want to learn about environmental issues and take action in their communities. Register by October 18. Check out a short video from last year’s conference. We encourage schools to bring a group of students. This program is FREE.   VTeen Leadership Weekend – register by Oct 25 Join us for a fun-filled weekend developing important skills and traits that will help you stretch and improve your leadership, communication, problem solving, teamwork and other transferable skills to take back to your club work, school […]

Join the Youth Climate Strike!

Matt Henchen

Earlier this year, Greta Thunberg and 46 other youth activists issued a call to everyone around the globe to join them in a massive climate strike on September 20th. The Climate Strike will kick-off a week of mass, actions between Sept 20-27. In most countries, the youth strikers have chosen Sept. 20th as the day of their Climate Strike, while in a few other countries they have chosen Sept 27th. In the US, the coalition of youth strike groups, the Future Coalition, chose September 20th as the date. Students from the Vermont Youth Lobby are standing in solidarity with Greta Thunberg and her courageous call to Strike for the Climate.  There is no doubt we are in the midst of a climate crisis and that now is the time to take bold and comprehensive action to change the course of our futures together.     We strongly encourage students from across […]

Support the Race Against Racism!

Matt Henchen

The 3rd Annual Race Against Racism will take place on Sunday, September 22, 2019 at Montpelier High School!    The Race Against Racism is a state-wide annual anti-racist event, organized by youth from several Vermont high schools. All are welcome to a public rally, comprised of a short list of notable speakers, and lots of live music and performances beginning at 10:45. An optional 5k run or walk will begin at 11:30 on a scenic loop through the city of Montpelier. The goal of the event is to further a conversation surrounding racial justice in Vermont and to ensure the fight for racial justice is visible and accessible to all.   Runners and walkers include many high school sports teams from around Vermont, their classmates, and community members of all kinds. For the rally portion of the program there is wood-fired pizza, music, speakers, and performances. Many local social justice […]

Please Consider Joining the Vermont Youth Lobby!

Matt Henchen

The Vermont Youth Lobby needs your help to plan a series of actions that might finally persuade Vermont lawmakers to pass serious and bold climate legislation this year!     We are holding our first planning meeting of the year with three goals in mind: Grow the movement by recruiting Youth Lobby Officers from as many high schools as possible. Consider how we might help support and promote upcoming climate activism – in particular, the Global Climate Strike on Sept. 20th-27th. Begin planning our own climate actions for the upcoming year, which may include: Working directly with Vermont Lawmakers to organize a Youth Climate Congress that will meet in the Statehouse for a big media event in November.  The goal of the event would be to develop a plan that might convince the legislature to declare a climate emergency. Work with a number of lawmakers to co-create an actual climate-related bill […]

Registration Now Open for the 4th Annual Rally for the Planet!

Matt Henchen

REGISTER BELOW The official date for the 2019 Youth Rally for the Planet has been changed and is now Wednesday, May 1st. Please join the Vermont Youth Lobby on Wednesday, May 1st from 9am – 1:30pm as we rally for CLIMATE, JOBS, AND JUSTICE! The main goal this year is to let lawmakers know we want Vermont to take a much stronger leadership role in the global fight against climate change! We’ve been asking our lawmakers for bold action to address climate change for several years now and are growing increasingly frustrated by their general inaction. We applaud the many legislators who have tried to make climate action a priority, but the pace of change taking place in Montpelier is not nearly fast enough to meet the challenges we are confronted with, as highlighted in the most recent IPCC report that gives humanity 10-12 years to make dramatic cuts in […]

Call to Action! Youth Lobby Press Conference at the Statehouse

Matt Henchen

Please join us for a press conference in the Statehouse on the opening day of the Vermont Legislature! Students from the Vermont Youth Lobby will be holding a press conference at 1:30pm on Wednesday, January 9th in Room 10 of the Vermont Statehouse.  The purpose of this press conference is to let our lawmakers know that we expect serious, bold, and immediate action to address climate change this legislative session.  It is our future that is in jeopardy, and it is partly our job to guide our leaders in the right direction when it comes to climate change policy. We have the opportunity to show the rest of the nation that decisive climate action does not have to be a particularly disruptive or painful process.  In fact, we believe that a well-designed transition away from fossil fuels can not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also provide thousands of new […]