Field Notes on Climate

Ami Eckard-Lee: Climate change is a global environmental issue, but it’s also a humanitarian crisis that disproportionately impacts marginalized communities all over the world.

Climate change has a greater impact on marginalized groups of people because of the preexisting effects of systemic racism and historical inequalities that lead to greater exposure to harmful pollutants and unsafe environments.

This inequitable and heavy burden of exposure to environmental hazards is referred to as environmental injustice.

But there is one group of people who are often overlooked when we talk about impacts of climate change on people: youth.

So, how are youth impacted by climate change?

[bright music] Many people are considered marginalized due to different forms of discrimination.

Racial and ethnic minorities, low-income communities, people with disabilities, the elderly, youth, and more.

Youth and other marginalized groups face political disadvantages that make it hard for their voices to be heard.

Despite this political suppression, they’re valuable changemakers and innovators who are stepping up to challenge societal norms and fight for climate action.

So, how are youth empowering marginalized voices and supporting systemic change?

And who is empowering them?

Taylor Seale: Youth are constantly underestimated.

I run a program in partnership with the City of Madison, Dane County, and United Way of Dane County, and we organize a group of high school students who have the opportunity to tangibly fund K through 12 initiatives that are designed by youth, for youth, and through all of our work, we firmly believe that youth have the power to make big change in their communities.

They are experts in their communities.

Ami: Bloomberg Philanthropies created an international program called the Youth Climate Action Fund that distributes funding to various youth-led climate projects around the world.

Madison, Wisconsin was chosen as a participating city in both 2024 and 2025.

Reya Khatri: By Youth for Youth is a committee of Dane County high school students that make investment decisions to support youth-led programs and projects in Dane County.

BYFY members identify issues impacting youth in Dane County, establish funding priorities, review grant proposals, and recommend funding from county and city grants to support projects developed and implemented by youth for youth.

We all come from different backgrounds and locations, but we all have a passion for youth voice and impacting the vulnerable populations in our community.

There were so many great applications that we saw come through.

The individual impact that each of these projects holds contributes to the greater community because of the youth they involve, the different schools, for example, it’s giving those youth an opportunity to be a part of something larger than themselves.

I feel like, for me, when I was looking at the grants, I really wanted to fund a program that would not just contribute a couple months, but could be expanded throughout a couple of years as well.

Esther Ko: So, we also kind of looked at, like, the impact and if it was diverse or not.

– We looked at the demographics of people as well, and through that, we identified which ones we wanted to fund.

Ami: The By Youth for Youth members awarded funding to 17 youth-led environmental projects to help students get involved in community action.

These projects ranged in focus from composting to solar and even sustainable transportation.

The goal was to give youth the opportunity to have their voices heard, and to give them the support they need to make actionable change within their communities.

One of the awarded groups was the Freedom, Inc.

Youth Squad, who proposed creating a garden to teach young Hmong and Black girls about food sovereignty while providing fresh, culturally relevant produce to their community.

Amerius Jones: The gardening project was really for us to learn and, like, give back.

So, it’s like basically a give and take.

We take more information with learning about gardening and how to access food naturally, while also, like, giving back to our community, because a lot of the times with communities like people of color, they’re put in, like, neighborhoods where, like, access to natural food is not easy.

So, like, a food desert where, like, they’ll have, like, a McDonald’s, a Wendy’s, a Burger King, but like, the grocery store is probably, like, 20 minutes away.

– A food desert generally refers to a community that does not have access to healthy and affordable foods.

These communities often don’t have local grocery stores and are limited in public transportation options that could get them to one.

This can make accessing healthy and affordable food very difficult, which forces members of these communities to rely on fast-food chains or the prepackaged, processed foods found in convenience stores.

This lack of access to a sustainable environment is another form of environmental injustice that actively suppresses and contributes to disproportionately high health-related issues for people in these communities.

Who is your project aiming to help?

Namaiya Nellem: Our project is aiming to help minority groups of people in our community, which our community is Black people, Southeast Asian girls, women, and queer folks.

– Can you tell me what you ended up choosing to plant?

Namaiya: So, we chose to plant collard greens, tomatoes, lavender, habanero, basil.

Amerius: Basil.

Namaiya: Zucchini, strawberries.

We grew a lot of stuff that was culturally relevant to our groups of people.

Like, we use collard greens for, like, soul food.

We use, you know, zucchini for soul food, you know what I’m saying?

So, we use it that, like, culturally relevant to us and our community.

– Yeah, something that means something to us.

– Why are, like, culturally relevant foods so important for specific communities?

– Because our food basically shows how we live on.

Like, food that is passed down from generation to generation shows how we could stay connected to the people that came before us within our community.

It shows that once you give people who don’t have it the opportunity to learn things, it grows them as a person and as a community.

– And it’s, like, a tradition thing.

Everybody has their traditions, and sometimes food is a part of a tradition.

Namaiya: And that’s especially for communities that are underprivileged.

It’s important that we have things that are fresh and grown by us, for us.

– Why did you two choose to participate in climate action?

– I care about what I consume, what I breathe in, what I breathe out.

That’s why it’s very important to me.

But the best thing you can do is, like, start where you are.

So, like, starting your own garden.

Once you start at home, you can tell your friends, and their friends tell their friends, and so on and so forth.

– I think of it, like, it starts with me, you know, like whatever I wanna do, I can’t make nobody else do it.

I got to start it myself.

And then, people will follow suit.

You just gotta have, like, the right mindset and the right goal, and your outcome will be beautiful.

– Taking action for our environment has never been more important, and amplifying the voices of those facing the greatest impact is a great way to start combating environmental injustice in our communities.

You can get involved in climate activism by joining or starting environmental clubs at your school.

Seek out existing organizations that uplift marginalized groups and offer your support through volunteering and outreach.

If you wanna take things a step further, you could find out who your representatives are and write to them.

By breaking down the barriers that confine marginalized groups, we can empower individuals and communities to work towards environmental justice and equality.

Meaningful change happens when all perspectives have a place at the table, including youth.

So, get out there and make your voice heard.

[bright music] – We out here working on our beautiful garden, as you can see.

Having a little trial and error here, but we gonna get this right for the community!