CLC to host high school students' summit on climate change
Lake County high school students will host a climate change summit Saturday to provide people with information they can apply to improve the environment and planet at the College of Lake County in Grayslake.
The Climate Solutions Summit will feature a slate of speakers including architects, climate activists, and representatives from environmental groups such as the Citizens Climate Lobby and Sierra Club.
"People underestimate their ability to improve their corner of the world," said Ben Kerch, a sophomore at Highland Park High School. "People can do a lot more than they think they can for society."
Students from Highland Park, Libertyville and Stevenson high schools have been collaborating virtually since November to organize the summit.
Ella Kozlowski, a Libertyville High senior, said 10 environmental groups will set up information tables at the summit.
Among them is Faith in Place, an environmental justice nonprofit for which Kozlowski worked over the summer restoring the grounds of a Waukegan church that had been overrun by invasive plant species and weeds.
Among the speakers will be Dave Wilms, who taught science at Stevenson High for more than 25 years before retiring 10 years ago and consulting on large-scale solar panel projects.
Wilms, who also is Kozlowski's uncle, said he always found working with kids to be inspirational and has been impressed by the students planning the summit.
"Without kids this wouldn't be happening," Wilms said. "They're all stepping forward, being enthusiastic, responsible and inspiring."
The summit will be the final environmental event hosted by CLC during Earth Week.
"I love the fact that this is growing organically and bubbling up from the students," CLC Sustainability Manager David Husemoller said. "We need good news and this is good news."
The summit will run from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the A011 Auditorium at CLC's Grayslake campus, 19351 W. Washington St. Guests are encouraged to visit information tables and meet with representatives of environmental groups. Speakers will give presentations from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.