The Nature Conservancy’s Youth Environmental Thinkers program is about connecting young people to nature – and to other people. We hear more about the program in this conversation with its founder and a former intern working as a mentor this summer.

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TRANSCRIPT:

 MELBA LARA, HOST: A group of teenage interns spent this summer learning about climate change and its sociological impact. They’re part of the Nature Conservancy’s Youth Environmental Thinkers program in Illinois. The program isn’t just about connecting people to nature, but also people to people. Here to tell us more about it is Debra Williams, a community engagement specialist who launched the program. And Antoine Stokes, a former intern who acted as a mentor to this year’s group. Hi to you both. And Debra, let’s start with you. Tell us a little bit about what an average day in the Youth Environmental thinkers program looks like? What do the interns do? 

DEBRA WILLIAMS: Well, with it being a job, there’s responsibilities that are emphasized of being on time, being present with everything that you need. It’s a several different ways that we utilize print and videos and conversations to really emphasize what climate change is, environmentally and sociologically, and they would also get out into the prairie. The stewardship team would take them out, and they would do a variety of things that assist with the management of the prairies. 

LARA: And Debra, when you’re talking about the prairies, what exactly are we talking about? 

WILLIAMS: It’s a nature preserve that is majorly owned by the Nature Conservancy. And it’s five prairies in the Markham area. 

LARA: And Antoine, I want to bring you in now. You started as an intern in 2020, what’s been your favorite part of the program? 

 ANTOINE STOKES: In 2020, probably some of the assignments. The assignment to go outside with no technology, no phone, no people, just by yourself and really pay attention to the things around you. 2020 was completely virtual. So when I was offered the opportunity to come back as a mentor, I came back because I wanted to see all the parts that I had missed, because they talked so much about how pretty the prairie was, and how fun it was to be out there. And so I would say this year, that has been my favorite part, getting to go out into the prairie and actually do some work, spot some plants, cut down some trees, catch some bugs. 

LARA: And prior to this had you spent a lot of time in that area in the prairies. 

STOKES: Um, no, before this, I had not even known that there were prairies in Markham. I live just 10 minutes away from it, and I would have never know had it not been for this program. 

LARA: And with something like climate change, it can sometimes be hard to feel like individuals are actually making a difference. How do you think the activities that you did in the internship fit in with kind of a larger fight against climate change? 

STOKES: It’s very easy to sit around and think that, “Oh, well, the big companies are to blame. They are the reasons that we have climate change.” And in doing that, we give ourselves a scapegoat. And we decide well, if they’re ruining it in anyways then my contribution doesn’t matter. But one thing we help to instill in the interns is that if enough people have that mindset, then together they can make an impact, for better or for worse, just as big as those companies. And so when we go out and we do stewardship, when we went to cut down buckthorn trees, we look at this forest full of invasive trees. And we think, “Oh, we’re not going to make a dent in that.” But after an hour, we had cleared out a whole pond. So with those activities that helps put into perspective, that things are not as grandiose and out of your reach as they would always seem. 

LARA: I’ve been speaking with Debra Williams and Antoine Stokes from the Nature Conservancy’s Youth Environmental Thinkers program. Thanks to you both for talking with us.

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