Friday, April 4, 2025 | Orono, Maine
A one-day event for Maine high school students to gather, build community, and learn key skills for planning and implementing climate projects at their school.
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Featured Speaker
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and teacher working to help create the best possible climate future. She is co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for the future of coastal cities, and is the Roux Distinguished Scholar at Bowdoin College. She authored The New York Times bestseller What If We Get it Right?: Visions of Climate Futures.
Ayana earned a BA from Harvard University in environmental science and public policy, and a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine biology. She serves on the board of directors for Patagonia and GreenWave and on the advisory board of Environmental Voter Project. Recent recognitions include, the Schneider Award for climate communication and the Time 100 Next List.
- Roz O'Reilly, (she/her) Orono High School
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Roz is an Orono High School senior and community organizer with JustMe For JustUs, a non-profit dedicated to empowering rural youth across Maine in climate justice work. Her work focuses on strengthening rural community resilience through youth-led climate initiatives. Roz believes that meaningful climate advocacy emerges from understanding one's own story and relationship to place, particularly in Maine's rural communities where environmental challenges intersect with questions of social and economic justice. Through JustMe For JustUs, Roz builds youth leadership through collective dialogue and community-driven solutions, helping young people recognize their lived stories as essential voices in the climate movement.
- Maya Faulstich, (she/they) Yarmouth High School
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Maya is from Yarmouth Maine, and advocates for climate justice through policy and culture change. She co-leads her high school's Environmental Action Club and is an active member of the Yarmouth Climate Action Board. Her passion mainly lies in addressing our "throw-away culture" by creating systems of reuse that eliminate our need for disposability. When she's not writing testimony or washing dishes for her reusable dishware program Dishes on Demand, you can find her skiing or writing songs.
- Autumn Carmona, (she/her) University of Maine
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Autumn is passionate about climate action because it is a part of our daily lives in ways we may not even notice. Her niche is in designing permaculture food systems that will be self-sustaining in the future and how to have small-scale community action that focuses on regeneration, energy efficiency, and localization. Autumn is a Botany major at UMaine, with a concentration in permaculture and regenerative studies.
- Sage Tocci, (she/her) University of Southern Maine
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Sage is passionate about climate action, because she believes the environment is precious and inherently valuable.
- Eddie Nachamie, (he/him) University of Maine
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Climate action has called to Eddie since the time he began caring for a small vegetable garden during high school which taught him the power we can have as individual actors. This experience led Eddie to a disaster deployment in Southern Montana responding to historic flooding which accelerated his drive to create change by showing him the stark reality of our changing climate. Since coming to college at UMaine Orono, Eddie’s life has been defined by an urge to create change within his community and move more people towards climate action by working with volunteers in the Terrell House garden, hosting educational events focused on sustainability and permaculture, a\d conducting research at UMaine.
- Charlie Cooper, (he/him) University of Maine Alumni
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Charlie is a recent graduate from the University of Maine. As president of Divest UMS, he was a leader of the successful student campaign to divest the finances of the University of Maine System from the fossil fuel industry. He spent 3 years as a resident steward of the Terrell House Permaculture Living and Learning Center, where he led workshops and empowered community members to strengthen their relationship with the natural world by learning practical gardening skills and engaging with local ecologies. These experiences have led him to believe in a two-pronged approach to climate action. Working from the bottom up, we must empower ourselves and strengthen our communities to build islands of ecological coherence. From the top down, we must push for policies that prioritize sustainability and equity in our energy, agriculture, and infrastructure systems. Organizing for climate action is one of many ways to take back our power as people to build the world we envision.
- Terrell House Residents
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Terrell House Permaculture Living & Learning Center at UMaine Orono incorporates a small resident community, educational events, and a community garden. Our vision includes a supportive social environment, affordable housing, on-site food production and preservation, educational opportunities, and community building and outreach — all guided by permaculture ethics and design principles. House residents oversee all aspects of the project. They share household and programming responsibilities through regular house meetings, planning sessions, garden work, and experimentation with a variety of systems and approaches to communication, education, and economics. The four resident stewards who oversee the house are Alyssa Arscott, Henry Hill, Jamieson Simpson, and Eddie Nachamie.
- Camden Windplanners
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Windplanners is a student organization that focuses on bolstering sustainability initiatives at Camden Hills Regional high school and the surrounding community. These efforts have ranged from advocating for green energy solutions to meet the schools energy needs, to running active composting mounds on campus, to working with school facilities to address sustainability issues, to raising awareness within the school community. Currently the club is focused on bringing electric car chargers to the campus, divesting money from unsustainable companies, monitoring waste cycles and working towards a plan for a net zero school in the future. Windplanners is dedicated to taking pro-climate action along with raising support and awareness for climate issues both inside of the school community and within the broader community connections.
About
WHEN: Friday, April 4, 2025 | 9 am - 4 pm
WHERE: University of Maine-Orono
WHAT: This full-day summit offers Maine high school students and adult leaders (for example: teachers, administrators, school staff members, etc) the opportunity to connect with fellow emerging climate leaders, attend student-run breakout sessions, and build a toolkit of climate action project planning skills. Educators and administrators accompanying students to the Summit will join a separate “adult track” to exchange knowledge and build connections. The full agenda is available here.
Register
Form a cohort with at least one adult leader (educator, administrator, school staff/faculty) and 2-10 students from your high school. Cohorts may be based on preexisting eco-clubs or newly formed groups. No prior experience running a climate project at your school is necessary. (Registration is now closed.)
Connect
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Abigail Hayne, Summit Coordinator
Abigail is a trained scientist who now works for the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future to connect young people to climate action in Maine. Have questions about the Summit or how to take climate action in your life? Ask her how to get started, or invite her to speak at your school.
FAQ's
- Will educators receive CEU hours for their time at the summit?
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Yes, educators who accompany students to the summit will receive 3 CEU hours for the day.
- Is there funding to pay for substitute teacher coverage?
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Yes, there is funding available from the Department of Education to pay the costs of substitute teacher coverage for your classes the day of the Summit. You will receive more information and instructions after registration closes.
- What if we can't stay for the whole day?
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Attendees are strongly encouraged to participate in all Summit events, but we understand that scheduling can be tricky to navigate! If your group must leave early, please send summit organizer Abigail Hayne (abigail.hayne@maine.gov) a message and she will coordinate with you to ensure you still get the full benefits of the day.
- Will there be accessibility accommodations?
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If you need accommodations, please provide details in your registration form.
- Will food be provided?
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Yes, breakfast and lunch will be provided! Please let us know in your registration form if you have any dietary restrictions.
- Can students register individually?
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No, we can only accept student registrations as part of a cohort. Registration is open to high school groups of at least two students and one adult leader and a maximum of 10 students and two adult leaders.
- What is the schedule?
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Check-in and breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. The Summit will officially begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Check back later for the full schedule.
- Where should we park?
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Parking will be available in a lot that is a 2-minute walk from the venue. Attendees will receive a map with additional details.
- What's included?
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Your conference fees, meals, and materials are free and included in your registration. Lodging is not included. There is free WiFi and parking onsite. Limited funds are available for transportation fees. If transportation costs are a barrier for your school to attend the summit, please check the box on question #11 on the registration form to receive more information.
- Who can participate?
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This Summit is open to all interested Maine high school students, administrators, staff, and faculty. Cohorts can have up to ten participants per school and may be based on preexisting eco-clubs or newly formed groups. No prior experience running a climate project at your school is necessary. At least one primary adult cohort leader is required.
- What is the deadline to register?
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Registration ends March 3, 2025.
- What can I expect?
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This all-day event will include student-led workshops, breakout sessions, meeting and connecting with other young climate leaders, and climate action project planning and skill-building. Lunch will be provided.
