Email: "LP grad inspires Ad’k Youth Climate Summit"
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     LAKE PLACID — A Lake Placid native will see a year’s worth of planning and prepping come together next week at the first-ever Adirondack Youth Climate Summit.


     The summit is the brainchild of 18-year-old Zach Berger, who graduated from Lake Placid High School in June. He attended last November’s Adirondack Climate Conference at The Wild Center, which was attended by  local business people, government officials and politicians. But someone was missing. There were not many young people. Afterward, Berger was inspired to organize a similar event geared toward a younger generation. He approached The Wild Center’s Director of Programs Jen Kretser and Lake Placid High School AP environmental science teacher Tammy Morgan about the idea.


    “(Last year’s conference) was not really focused toward youth or people entering the work force,” Berger said. “I wanted to engage young people and engage them in green jobs.”


    The summit, which will take place Nov. 10 and 11 at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, will feature guest speakers, workshops and discussions. As of Wednesday, 29 schools and colleges from across the North Country were registered for the event. According to the summit’s Web site on www.adkcap.org, the list of presenters includes Jerry Jenkins, an ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and leading researcher into the effects of climate change on the Adirondacks; Donald Fudge, a consultant with Energy Smart Schools and project manager with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); and John D. Songer, Plant Engineer with the Rochester City School District responsible for saving over $620,000 in the past seven years due to green initiatives.


    The second day of the conference will focus on students and administrators developing a climate-action plan for their school by brainstorming ways they can reduce their carbon emission and energy use. Schools will be able to measure their success at implementing the action plans because there are already two more summits planned for 2010 and 2011.


    “For the next two years, progress will be measured,” Berger said. “You can’t really just measure it after this weekend. It’s a long-term thing.”


    Kretser said it had been her dream to organize an environmental youth summit in the Adirondacks. She said working with Berger and other students over the last nine months to plan the event has been a lot of hard work, but also very inspiring.


   “The energy they bring and to see the hopeful outlook they have is incredibly inspiring and motivating,” she said. “They are the next generation of leaders for the Adirondack region.”


    Kretser said she recieved an e-mail from Berger about creating a youth summit the night the 2008 conference ended. A year later, Berger is now a freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology. He will be returning to the Adirondacks this weekend to help set up the event and deliver the opening remarks. Berger said group discussion topics will include the direct effects climate change will have on the Adirondack Park and students lives. Students will also talk about how to help spur the green revolution in New York state public schools.


    “There’s no environmental education requirement in New York state high schools,” Berger said. “There’s no discussion of climate change.”


    Berger is studying software engineering at RIT and plans to minor in environmental studies. He said more schools should follow RIT’s lead when it comes to good green practices.


    “RIT has an amazing recycling program,” he said. “There are bins in every room and two major electronics recycling days a year. There are also ride shares so people can carpool.”


    As for the role the Adirondacks play in global change, both Berger and Kretser say the Park could be a model for other areas. The summit is an opportunity for schools and students to network, share ideas and gain new perspectives on ways they can reduce their carbon output.


    “It’s a really great opportunity to be a model for a rural economy to keep green jobs here,” Kretser said.


   

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