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Climate, refugees, food insecurity, and toxic waste are a few of the weighty topics covered at the inaugural Students for Environmental Justice Conference, which took place virtually in November 2020. High school students from independent schools across New York City, including Poly Prep Country Day School, created the conference to spark change in their local communities, build environmental justice literacy among students, and give them tools to dismantle systemic oppression and environmental degradation.When the heads of sustainability at the participating schools came up with the idea for the conference, they recruited students to help plan and promote it. To be involved in planning the conference, students had to apply, and 11 were accepted. The school leaders read the applications and selected the students who served on the leadership committee. Two such students, Kadyn Liburd and Rayeeda Mahmud, students at Poly Prep, recruited speakers for the conference, got the word out on social media, and reviewed workshop proposals that students submitted.
Twenty-three workshops, which were led by students and representatives from outside environmental justice and sustainability organizations, covered a variety of topics, such as President Joe Biden’s climate action plan, the Flint water crisis, child labor and chocolate production, and urban agriculture. Tensie Whelan, director of the Center for Sustainable Business at New York University and former president of the Rainforest Alliance, delivered the keynote address on what companies can do to combat the climate crisis.
“The conference helped me realize how many students there are in our community who care about environmental justice,” says Hannah Crowley, a Poly Prep student who presented at the conference, “which gave me hope for the future.”
“The future is our responsibility, and we must act now if we want to do better,” Liburd adds. The conference will take place again this fall, and organizers are talking about having it in person.
Students from the following schools were also on the leadership committee: The Spence School, The Hewitt School, Regis High School, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Grace Church School, The Brearley School, The Dalton School, and The Browning School.
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