by Abby Knowles
INTERN
Last weekend, the University of Mary Washington hosted the fourth annual Youth Climate Conference to educate the public on the current climate crisis and how the community of Fredericksburg can work together to help save our planet.
The event included speakers and presentations by area youth, including high school students.
Twenty-year-old Sena Wazer gave the keynote address—a presentation on the Climate Reality Project, which is a non-profit organization that strives to educate the public on the current climate crisis and how people can take action. The organization’s main objectives are to train, engage, and advocate.
After Wazer’s presentation, she asked the audience to shout out what they are fighting for. Responses included “Education,” “Clean water,” and, “A future for my grandchildren!”
James Monroe High School student Claire Kuiper spoke about her organization, “Present Day Dragons,” which she started in February of 2022. Kuiper is passionate about rescuing reptiles, and explained how she feels that every living thing deserves a good life.
She then surprised her audience by introducing a real-life reptile—a python named Daphne.
Robbie Howes and Nadia Shalaby, students at Fredericksburg Academy, gave a presentation on different climate solutions for developing countries.
Shalaby said, “My goal was to spread awareness on what developing countries can do against the climate crisis, and we had round table discussion and interacted with the audience a lot and bounced ideas back and forth for our research.”
UMW students Sofia Taylor, Samantha Vaughan, and Ella Schmehl all attended the event.
Taylor said, “This is my first time attending. I think it’s really cool for students to showcase the environmental impact near Fredericksburg, and to narrow it down to one region at a time, and [to learn] what you can do as a student is very helpful.”
Vaughan, who helped with the event set-up this year, said “I helped out with this event last year as my honors volunteer project, and this year it felt important to me to continue helping out to get the Fredericksburg community together.”
Schmehl also attended for the second year in a row. “I found it very educational on how you can help the environment,” she said.
On the second floor of the university center, there were tables full of information about different area organizations. The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Rappahannock Group had reusable bags for those who attended and made the following pledge, “I will use a reusable bag every time I shop.”
Another organization, GreenTeenz RVA, had reusable shopping bags that people could draw on and take home.
Yoga sessions taught by Dragonfly Yoga FXBG instructor Allie Hendson were a great way to end a day full of learning and trying new things.
The annual conference is a great way for the community to connect and support the high schools and their students.
Abby Knowles is a senior at the University of Mary Washington.
