Naperville’s EcoRise wraps up free environmental summer camp for youth

EcoRise, a student-led nonprofit based in Naperville, is wrapping up its free summer camp program designed to make environmental literacy accessible and inspire local youth to take hands-on action in their communities.

This summer, the camp successfully brought together more than 100 local students at the 95th Street Library.

Throughout the program, influential speakers like Naperville’s sustainability manager, Ben Mjolsness, have visited to show participants how they can make a positive environmental impact right now.

The final camp session will take place from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18, in Meeting Rooms A & B at the 95th Street Naperville Public Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive.

The entire day is dedicated to preparing the kids for the Green Dream Challenge, a capstone competition where student teams will pitch real-world sustainability innovations to city leaders at Benedictine University for a $750 prize pool.

To help the kids polish their ideas, state Sen. Laura Ellman will be joining the session to present and share insights. The room will be filled with students actively collaborating on their own community green projects.

EcoRise is a Naperville-based, student-led nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental education and empowering the next generation to lead sustainability initiatives within their local communities. For more information, visit ecorisenfp.com or email ecorisenfp@gmail.com.