YESS! Youth Climate Summit
In February 2023, RSF awarded funds to RHS AP biology teacher, Samantha Cassata, to send RHS students to The Youth Empowerment & Sustainability Summit. This Youth Climate Leadership Incentive was a 3-day immersive leadership opportunity at the Ashokan Center for students to collaborate and create a sustainability project to bring back to their communities.
“Students were so excited and had such a great time at the summit! The students are determined to bring composting to Rhinebeck High School as their Climate Action Project (as a short term goal- long term they are thinking the entire district). We were inspired to hear that Red Hook recently partnered with The Ozone and is now composting on their campus! We think we can, and should do the same,” said Cassata.
Students worked diligently before, during, and after the summit to create a physical, hands-on, project to help better the environment and our community. The focus of this hands-on work was mainly to be in the areas of science, sustainability and technology.
Amaia Hayes was one of the RHS student ambassadors. Hayes said of her time, “The YESS summit was such an amazing experience for me and my friends! We attended many collaborative workshops and presentations and we were inspired into trying to create a composting system at the high school to reduce food waste.”
Local Village Trustee, head of the Climate Smart Rhinebeck Taskforce, and CLS mom, Vanessa Bertozzi was one of the conference presenters. “It was awesome!” said Bertozzi. “My presentation was about the safe routes to school projects RCSD students [in Henry Frischknecht’s class] have done with Climate Smart Rhinebeck and the kids' contributions to the Village Comprehensive Plan. I was so proud to share examples of the work students have done in Rhinebeck. It’s now outside and off inspiring projects in other districts!”