memorandum

to:                  Town Council

from:            Carlo Robustelli, Mayoral Aide
                        John Richardson, Sustainability Officer
                        Butch Kisiah, Director of Parks and Recreation

subject:      Mayor’s Youth for a Sustainable Future

date:            November 24, 2008

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide members of the Council, Town Staff, and the Community information about the Mayor’s Youth for a Sustainable Future initiative.

BACKGROUND

Since January 2007, the Youth Council, a division of the Town’s Department of Parks and Recreation, has provided an opportunity for young people to participate in local government and to learn skills of leadership and responsibility. This initiative aimed to broaden young people’s learning opportunities through hands-on experiences that demonstrate how citizens can make change by way of the political process. 

Living with the decisions and actions of the past while working to create a more a sustainable future is one of the greatest challenges young people will face in. While the term “sustainability” has become part of the vernacular for many North Carolinians, it is a term that is sometimes misunderstood or underappreciated.  There is growing acceptance of the concepts of sustainability in local government, business, and nonprofits; but there remains a gap between policy implementation and young people. And while young people have the most to lose, their voice is largely unheard. 

In June 2008, the Chapel Hill Youth Council appointed a sub-committee to consider a sustainability initiative for youth.  This initiative was developed in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office, Town of Chapel Hill Youth Council, UNC Institute of the Environment, and the Chapel Hill Office of Sustainability. 

In September 2008, the Chapel Hill Youth Council voted unanimously to approve the initiative and several of the Council’s members volunteered to participate. 

DISCUSSION

The cornerstone of the Mayor’s Youth for a Sustainable Future initiative has been a commitment to civic education and engagement.  The Mayor has emphasized that this program should not be a top down mandate, but rather an initiative created by young people using tools similar to those employed in our local political system.  To this end, the Mayor’s Office petitioned the Youth Council to consider creating a sustainability program for the youth of Chapel Hill.  Additionally, the Mayor’s Office offered to support the program in a manner that is consistent with the Youth Council’s vision for this project. 

In June 2008, the Chapel Hill Youth Council appointed a subcommittee to work over the summer on a sustainability initiative for the youth of Chapel Hill. This subcommittee included staff members from the Mayor’s Office, the UNC Environmental Resource Program, and the Chapel Hill Office of Sustainability. The subcommittee recommended a title and detailed outline for a three-part program that was unanimously approved at the first Youth Council meeting in September 2008.

The program timeline runs from the January 2009 participant solicitation period until December 2009, at which point students will present the results of their community service project to the Town Council.  The program timeline is largely dependent on youth availability and scheduling. 

As part of the three-step program, members of the Mayor’s Youth initiative will complete the following modules:

  1. Classroom Sessions:
    1. UNC Institute of the Environment Resource Program:  These activities will be interactive and/or visual in nature to appeal to a variety of students learning styles.  The goal of the activities will be to stimulate the critical thinking skills necessary to enable students to assess the sustainability of products, services, and actions (including local government), and to empower them to make informed choices. 
    2. Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Foundation for a Sustainable Community:  This session will explore activities at the state and federal levels which reflect positive steps towards a greener economy. Additionally, youth will hear from local business owners in a variety of markets (e.g., landscaping, car care, hospitality and restaurants), and learn how these businesses are changing practices and engaging their workforce to embrace the demand for “green.”  The goal will be for youth to understand how sustainability is being implemented in the marketplace, and to learn more about the skills that business owners are seeking as a result of their efforts to “go green.” 
  2. Hands-on Field Work
    1. These activities are designed to engage students in real-world, sustainable business settings.  Field exercises will be facilitated by local experts from within the chosen topic area (e.g., solar technology).  The goal of these activities will be to expose the youth to the latest science and research within a given topic area, and to provide tools and training that they can then apply to their selected community service project and beyond.
  3. Community Service Project
    1. This project will provide the youth with an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in the first two modules to a community service project.  The Youth will manage the project from start to finish by working directly with Town staff and professional consultants. 
    2. The goals of this project will be to:
      1. Learn skills pertaining to project management, leadership and team-building; 
      2. Successfully apply knowledge of sustainable practices to a community service project;
      3. Demonstrate to the community the youth’s commitment to a sustainable future;
      4. Inform the community about ways the Town can become a more sustainable place; and
      5. Give youth a voice by empowering them to implement a community project. 

After successfully completing the community service project, youth will present information about the project to the community. This will include presentations to both the Chapel Hill Youth Council and the Town Council. Youth participants will launch a public information campaign about sustainability and the successes of their service project. As part of this effort, participants will call attention to the program’s mission and encourage other youth to get involved. 

Sustainability, which is commonly described as a three-legged stool, involves a balanced approach to addressing the social, economic, and environmental needs of a community.  Sustainability transcends the issues of age, race, religion, and gender. This program is aimed to empower the youth of our community by exposing them to knowledge and skills that will allow them to become leaders of change in their homes, schools, neighborhoods and in the community at-large. Students who complete this program will learn the skills necessary to make positive changes that will have a lasting impact on future generations. The Mayor’s Youth for a Sustainable Future will be responsible for helping to recruit their peers for the 2010 program, and will serve as the Town Council’s youth advisors on sustainability issues throughout the community.