Young people on the Iron Range care about their environment, and made sure they attended the first ever Youth Climate Summit at Rock Ridge on Friday.

The 9th grade Honors Earth Science class organized the event, which included speakers and informational booths. Arctic explorer Will Steger was the keynote speaker.

Others included Chrissy Bartovich, from U.S. Steel, Julia Lee, a sustainability major from UMD, and Shaun Hainey from Northspan.

Aeris Gerard, a 9th grade organizer, said, “This is our home and we need to take care of it.”

Students from Mt. Iron-Buhl also came over. Isabelle Appelwick, a 10th grader, said, “I’m part of the school forest committee, and I’m on the Green Team. And I thought the speakers would be pretty cool. I’m pretty interested in climate stuff.”

Her classmate, Shay Busch, added, “I’m also part of the Green Team. I like to advocate for sustainability in school through various things.”

Bartovich told us it’s important for young people to understand that sustainability is about more than just greenhouse gas emissions. “It’s also about community support and outreach, and explaining how companies are doing the right thing.”

“I’m feeling really good about this. I think all of these people are going to benefit, and the whole Iron Range will as well,” shared Kaden Aguilar, another organizer.

See more highlights, on The Five!