Teen Programs

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

We’ll add new teen programs soon! In the meantime, scroll to see what local youth climate activists have been up to.

RECENT PAST PROGRAMS

2026 Visit to Boston to Speak to Legislators

February 12, 2026
Boston, Massachusetts

Seven Western Mass YCLP members traveled to Boston on February 12 to speak directly to senate and congressional leaders, advocating for climate solutions, climate-related education in schools, agricultures and the land-back movement. The day of youth advocacy was organized through MYCC (Massachusetts Youth Climate Coalition) and included a gathering of youth at the capitol and time for youth to visit the legislators that represent their towns and cities. Teens were trained ahead of time on how to speak with their representatives and connected with leaders for Sunderland, Springfield, South Hadley, and Longmeadow. While meeting with their legislators, youth asked for support for interdisciplinary climate education, outdoor air quality, renewable energy, the farm to school movement, and the return of land to the Nipmuc Peoples.

Western Mass Youth Climate Summit | October 2025

The Western Mass Youth Climate Summit took place on October 20, 2025 at the Springfield Museums. The 2025 theme was “Resilience as Resistance.” Western Mass Youth Climate Leaders planned for over six months, reaching out to local organizations and community members who would be able to lead workshops demonstrating the creative ways they show resistance against climate change. About 80 middle and high school students attended a full day of workshops, lunch and climate action project inspiration.

Workshops at the summit covered everything from climate 101 to sewing to music to solar arrays for schools! As their inspiration for the event, the leadership team defined the terms resilience and resistance and incorporated them into each aspect of the planning:

Resilience – Like a town rebuilding after a hurricane or a biodiverse forest adapting to the changing climate, resilience is the fountain of strength that we draw upon to not only survive but to thrive in the face of hardship. This strength can be nurtured in each person individually and grown into a community-level commitment to support and rely on one another.

Resistance – Where resilience is passive strength, resistance is the actions that we take to intentionally push back against oppressive systems that cause or exacerbate hardships. We draw from our collective power and vision of a just and livable future to relentlessly fight for change in our communities.

2025 Youth Climate Stories Project

In winter and spring 2025, Hitchcock Center and Climate Stories Project interviewed Massachusetts middle and high school students to record and share their climate stories, and interviewed community members about their personal responses to the changing climate.

This project elevates youth voices and tells the untold stories of young people and their experiences, understanding, and responses to climate change. The goals of this project are to use youth storytelling as a vehicle for inspiring young people to see themselves as climate change problem solvers; broadening engagement in youth climate action by inspiring peers and adult mentors; helping visitors of all ages to the Hitchcock Center learn about and get inspired by youth taking action on climate change; and catalyzing community conversations about visioning for the future.

Moving from Eco-Anxiety to Eco-Hope through Youth Climate Stories:
A Partially Youth Led Workshop

Led by Chrissy Larson of Hitchcock Center
Massachusetts Environmental Education Society
Annual Conference at Nichols College
Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Come to learn about climate storytelling, hear our process, and witness the hope through youth voices of Western Massachusetts!

Funded through a grant from Mass Cultural Council, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment and Climate Stories Project teamed up in 2025 to lead a 4-month project on elevating youth voices through climate storytelling. The project involved 15 teens, mostly in grades 8-12 who attended trainings and received equipment so they could record and share their personal climate stories. The youth stories were compiled into a video montage which was featured at an intergenerational community event in April 2025. Come to learn about climate storytelling, hear our process, and witness the hope through youth voices of Western Massachusetts.

This program is made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).

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