All this work contributes to the movement. Success in the movement, however, requires contributions from many people like you. Our movement has a role for everyone, so what’s your role?

Your role may be to join an environmental group on your campus; it may be to start one! KSEC can help you do that. We have a toolkit of resources with all the information you need to get a group off the ground, and our campus organizers are happy to guide you along the way.
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Joining a campus group offers a variety of roles you can adopt depending on your ability and capacity. 

1. You can simply be a member who sits in on meetings and listens -- that’s how a lot of young organizers get their start. 
2. You can volunteer for events your group attends or plans -- sitting at tables for student involvement fairs, planning teach-ins to talk about environmental issues on your campus, meeting with university administrators to discuss retiring your school’s coal-fired boilers and switching to renewable energy sources, and so on. 
3. You could even become an officer in your group who takes notes, plans meeting agendas, or runs social media.

The possibilities are wide at a campus group; you need only give it a chance to find your niche.

​Your role may be to improve the effectiveness of your campus group. Once again, KSEC can help. Our campus organizers can train your members in everything from how to run a meeting, how to recruit new members, how to effectively run social media, and beyond. 

It is so much easier to stay jaded, to (falsely) assume that there is nothing we can do to fix the problems that we see around us and to just exist in our bubbles. But you have risen to the call for more. You have seen the vision that we’ve dreamed together of a Kentucky where we can not only stay but thrive, where we have a liveable planet and justice for all. You are the reason that this hard work has all been worth it. I am eternally thankful for you believing in me, believing in us and believing in KSEC.

I thought I would be nervous to leave. I worried that I would worry about the organization that I poured so much of my heart, sweat and tears into. But the truth is I am not worried. I am proud, I am excited and I 100% believe that our KSEC community will continue to kick ass long into the future. I’m so sure in fact, that I am pledging to increase my monthly donation to KSEC this Spring Fund Drive. We all know money isn’t everything but it does help make this work possible. If you believe in KSEC and the power of young Kentuckians, pledge a few bucks each month and show it!

I’ll leave you with a couple of things that I have distilled from my time in the youth environmental movement.

1. It’s okay to demand respect, but be prepared to have to earn it. Its vital that people respect young folks and listen to your leadership. Unfortunately, many older people don’t get it (yet) and they have preconceived notions about your generation. Don’t be afraid to speak up and fight for a seat at the table. Sometimes we have to work harder to overcome those stereotypes, but show them that you are reliable and impress them with your understanding of grassroots organizing and it won’t take long before they start to listen.
2. It is not blindly optimistic or naive to believe that we can build something better. It is hope and hard work that make what seems impossible, possible. If we lose hope, we lose everything. Your ability to envision a new world and to see what is wrong in our current system is invaluable to our progress. Please keep pushing us all to do what is necessary not just want we think is possible.
3. Our biggest strength is our ability to love each other and to create space for people to be their authentic selves. Our relationships and trust with each other is ultimately our most important resource. Do the deep work to build community and invest in each other. Believe in yourself and bring people into the movement. Our opposition has money but they do not have community. And whenever possible bring in fun, music and laughter because we all deserve joy. Being a community organizer does not mean you have to be a martyr.
   
   

P.S. I’m not going anywhere and I would love to hear from you. Don’t be a stranger. Now, go out there and change the world.

Written by: Laura McAllister

The series of little rural roads that led up to the Lago Linda campground proved treacherous and stomach-churning, but the warmth, old friends, and vegan tacos that greeted me were well-worth the journey. After attending Catalyst this summer, the prospect of Fall Summit excited me, promising the same amazing atmosphere and lessons from which I benefited over the summer. At the end of the Fall Summit weekend, I knew that KSEC had created another fantastic event.

I slept in the dining cabin the first night, and woke up to the breakfast crew coming in to brew coffee. I enjoyed reconnecting with some of my friends from Catalyst while munching on a banana and peanut butter before we headed out into the freezing morning to establish norms and start training.

One of the things that has always struck me about KSEC events—and about the way that my campus affiliate, Greenthumb, operates––is the atmosphere of respect and inclusion, as well as compassion, that guides our time together. Learning about systematic biases and environmental injustice can be arduous and contentious, even among an ecologically-minded crowd, but our established norms allow us to carry on our conversations in a kind and safe way.

After setting norms, we read through KSEC’s literature, coming to better understand the way that we fit into the movement for a just transition (about which Cara Cooper gave an insightful presentation) in the commonwealth of Kentucky, and becoming more empowered to act. Other trainings throughout the day ensured that we had not only the motivation to act, but also the skills necessary to create meaningful change.
The blend of high school and college students allowed us to understand the stake young people have in our future, and I really loved interacting with people many years my junior who had done incredible things and were building conscientiousness much earlier than I ever had. It gave me a sense of hope, especially in the wake of a troubling UN report, to see all of these young people who were fighting for a change.

We worked through the Theatre of the Oppressed in the afternoon, facilitated by Tay Schulz. The activity, which encouraged us to use our bodies to talk about systematic problems and threats to our safety, summoned an indescribable emotion, making me feel loose and ready to take action. We came to trust one another more—even though I had never met most of the attendees before that morning—as we engaged in trust falls and developed images for the grassy stage. KSEC really has a way of bringing people together (and of providing vegetarian options that compel me to go back for seconds!).

Throughout all of the trainings and activities, we were given reminders to stay hydrated, take breaks when necessary, and enjoy snacks if we felt hungry. Over the course of the weekend, I felt like my needs were priorities for the people in charge and that I could take care of myself as I explored environmental justice issues that impact the lives of myself and many of the people I hold dear.

I also had the opportunity to speak on a panel on Saturday night. As I talked about Divest UK, an organization intent on pulling the University of Kentucky endowment out of fossil fuel investments, and listened to others telling the stories of their own success and strife, I felt a new sense of power, an immense urge to move forward even through the difficult moments. Sure, I spoke on a panel, but I was really there to learn from other student organizers and become more immersed in the coalition. Everyone who facilitated trainings attended others; everyone who spoke also heard. We were a group of young people working with each other, learning from each other, and lending one another our intentional, compassionate ears.

Sunday morning, a workshop in campaign planning put all of our new skills and motivations into practice. Greenthumb was able to develop a plan from the ground up, using some ideas we had touched on at Catalyst and giving them new life after our Fall Summit experiences. We packed up our bags and tents, not quite ready to leave, but certainly eager to return to our campuses and put our new education into practice.

I ended the weekend with a Fall Summit hike at Red River Gorge, which was about thirty minutes away from the campsite. There, we learned about how the Army Corps of Engineers had once planned to flood the area in order to create a zone for recreation, even though it is an internationally acclaimed spot for climbing and hiking with an impeccable landscape and immense cultural value. After trudging our way up the treacherous trails, we stood at the edge of the valley, perched on rock structures, and read the arches and the biodiversity that surrounded us. We headed back to ensure that we would not have to drive back in the dark. The cool dusk settling over the leaves soothed our souls and helped us move forward. From this excursion, I learned that the ecologically aware in Kentucky have been fighting to preserve its natural wonders for decades. In the twenty-first century, however, the fight is turning towards the basic health and rights of Kentucky citizens. As we move forward, as young people progressing into an unpredictably changing world, we must move strategically, but also with love, holding the land and its people in our hearts, listening as well as speaking, and creating a space for future generations so that we are the last people who have to deal with the treachery of their parents and grandparents.