Summer 2025 was a Winner

We are celebrating another successful summer at Accelerate Climate Solutions!

Our student interns spent eight weeks learning and working together. They visited local eco-sites (such as Blackwell Urban Stream Research Center & Kirk Prairie at College of DuPage), created blog & social media posts, wrote letters to the editor for local newspapers, and participated in civic events, including tabling for the Naperville Juneteenth celebration with climate justice-themed educational flyers.

Youth panel at Planet Earth's Future (Praneeth, Adi, Jimena, Shaye, Sabrina, Mara, Dani, Ferris pictured)

Two main events organized by our students were held this summer. Students organized and presented to the community and elected officials at the Naperville Environmental and Sustainability Task Force (NEST) monthly meeting. Their informative presentation, panel discussion, and call-to-action was titled "Planet Earth's Future: Student Voices on Climate Change." Co-hosted by the Sierra Club, the presentation was both educational and emotional. Learn more here.

The World We Inherit: Student organizers with Congressman Bill Foster (center), State Senator Laura Ellman (second from R), Councilman Benny White (R)

The final event of the summer was a climate art gallery called The World We Inherit and held at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in downtown Naperville. Local politicians, civic leaders, and area residents attended the climate gallery, which featured art created by students and hands-on demonstrations about at-home sustainable practices, such as composting and bike repair. The gallery created opportunities for intergenerational conversations about local climate issues and responsibilities.

Solomon Islands - Ocean View from a Hill, photo by Kurt E, Accelerate Climate Solutions intern

It also featured photos and writing from our collaboration with students living in the Solomon Islands who are at the frontlines of climate change. Of this project, intern Shaye said, “Collaborating with peers halfway across the world, I realized that the fight for our planet is crafted from countless small acts of trust and care. These acts demand grit, patience, and the courage to be vulnerable in the face of overwhelming challenges that seem impossible to solve.”

Morning intern team: Dani, Sabrina, Mara, Andrea (not pictured: Shaye)

Our summer youth programs involved 50 high school and college students, including 13 local paid interns, 5 interns in the Solomon Islands, and 32 volunteer interns. Interns learned many skills, from teamwork to civic engagement to video production. Our intern Mara reflected the sentiments of our students: "Working for Accelerate Climate Solutions was a great opportunity to collaborate with other passionate individuals to create change. It also allowed me to see a lot of different perspectives and experiences of climate change and better understand just how connected our world is."