Younger Residents Have A Seat At The Table In Lexington's Sustainability Efforts

Press release from the Town of Lexington:

May 12, 2021

In the fall of 2020, Lexington Town Meeting voted to pass a non binding resolution to declare a climate emergency. Joining communities around the world in this action, the resolution reaffirmed Lexington's commitment to combating the effects of climate change locally. What you may not know is that this resolution was put together by local high school students.

Inspired by the passion and civic action taken by younger residents in Lexington, Sustainability Director Stella Carr wanted to help create a seat at the table for them. Working with members of the Sustainable Lexington Committee, they created “SustainabLY” - Sustainable Lexington Youth.

SustainabLY will function as a subcommittee of the Town of Lexington's Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC). The two students representatives will hold meetings at the high school to gather insights from their peers, and will then report back to SLC.

About SustainabLY

The intention of this subcommittee is to give Lexington’s youth a voice in the Town’s efforts to address climate change, resilience, and adaptation. Our youngest residents have a critical stake in the outcome of our efforts; it is fitting that they have a direct line of communication to express concerns, share ideas, and develop their own recommendations to the Sustainable Lexington Committee and their subsequent recommendations to the Select Board and Town Meeting.

SustainabLY, as a subcommittee, will be led by the two newly selected student leaders, Michelle Wu an incoming Senior, and Tanay Dalmia, a rising Junior. They were selected out of a competitive pool of applicants, all of whom we hope can contribute to SustainabLY and the efforts which will come forward from the students in the future.

The selection committee spent a long time deliberating over this decision. It shows how much excitement there is from the students, but also the staff and elected representatives that will be assisting with this new community endeavor.

SustainabLY's Role

SustainabLY's will be active in a number of ways that will advance the Town's sustainability efforts:

• Assisting the Town in educating youth about climate change, including ways that they can take action, and to encourage their families to do so as well
• Working with the schools to advocate for climate change education, and that sustainability action is incorporated in the curriculum or school activities
• Identifying Town sustainability projects that students can weigh in on
• Making recommendations to SLC in a non-binding, non-voting capacity

Over time, other roles will be determined with input from the committee and student representatives.

Other Information

This is a collaborative partnership between the Town and Lexington Public Schools. In addition the the two youth representative, SustainabLY will consist of Sustainability Director Stella Carr, Select Board Member Mark Sandeen, School Committee Member Deepika Sawhney, Assistant Superintendent Christine Lyons, and Lexington High School Science Department Head Reginald Hobbs. Everyone is excited to see how this unfolds as students step into their leadership roles in the 2021-22 school year.

This press release was produced by the Town of Lexington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.