OLIVEBRIDGE,  N.Y.— Upper middle school and high school students will gather in February at the Ashokan Center to learn about coalition building and local leadership in fighting climate change. The theme this year is Restoration, Regeneration, and Resilience.

This is the 2025 Youth Empowerment & Sustainability Summit, a three-day immersion into ways young people can take action and make a difference to change their communities—and the world.

YESS aims to help students apply their ideas and energy, and work together with—and as—leaders in their communities to strengthen climate resilience.

There are sessions led by regional experts in civic engagement surrounding climate change, sessions led by students discussing their own experiences, and group work where attendees develop an action plan to take home and present.

While enhancing their skillsets, students gain cultural experience and see other perspectives, since attendees come from throughout the Hudson Valley, New York City and elsewhere. They also have the opportunity to explore the Ashokan Center and its 385 acres in the Catskill Mountains.  

Teams this year include local students from Kingston High School, Saugerties High School, Haviland Middle School, and SUNY STEP, and also students from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and NYC.

Notable speakers include County Executive Jen Metzger, Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, Senator Michelle Hinchey, and President of Climate Action Now Tim Guinee.  There will also be presentations from organizations such as the Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program, the Kingston YMCA Farm Project, the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Community Compost.

For more information, visit https://ashokancenter.org/yess-2025/ and contact education@ashokancenter.org.