Attendees celebrate youth empowerment and environmental action at the 2022 Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, March 18, 2023.

Registration is open for middle and high school students to attend the Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit on Saturday, March 18, 2023, from 9am–3:30pm. Hosted at Washington College in Chestertown, the Summit is a free event created to inspire and empower youth in taking local environmental action.

The day’s agenda includes a networking breakfast where students can mingle with their peers and local agencies offering volunteer and internship opportunities. Students will then follow their own self-created schedule to attend workshops led by fellow students and professionals in green careers. Sessions will dive into environmental photography, fisheries, sustainable food systems, how to engage in advocacy, engineering, and more. After lunch, students will get outside and into the community on curated excursions to experience the ways that they can make a positive impact in nature. Excursions include bird banding, a how-to workshop on hosting an invasive fishing tournament, and tours of wetlands and restoration sites among others.

The Summit is hosted by ShoreRivers as part of its work to protect and restore Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education, and Washington College’s Center for the Environment and Society. Seven incredible high school student leaders from across the Eastern Shore have been vital to ensuring that the Summit is by students, for students, with art, food, action, fun, and the environment in mind.

The Summit is free and open to the public, but youth must register to attend the event with a mentor. Mentors are adults who are responsible for up to 10 students at the Summit and can be parents, teachers, or community leaders. Groups larger than 10 require a co-mentor. Mentors will receive a packet with information and a permission packet that their students’ guardians must complete. Registration is on a first come, first served basis and closes at 4pm on March 3. To register for the Summit, or to learn more, visit uppershoresummit.weebly.com.

The Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit is supported by The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, The Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, IKEA, and La Motte.