{"id":10917,"date":"2019-03-29T17:47:30","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T17:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=10917"},"modified":"2019-03-29T17:47:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T17:47:30","slug":"activism-in-valleys-youth-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/29\/activism-in-valleys-youth-on-the-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Activism In Valley\u2019s Youth On The Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Hayden Seder<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Wood River High School\u2019s Nosotros United group aims to unite Latino and white students.
Photo credit: Nosotros United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

C<\/span>hildren are the future. And if recent local activism is any indication, the children of Blaine County are starting to realize that if they want a future that reflects their values, they need to take action now. <\/span><\/p>\n

There has been a growing movement of activism among youth of the Valley, which can be seen in several forms, from Ketchum\u2019s new Youth Recreation Leadership Program and Wood River High School\u2019s W.A.T.E.R. (We Appreciate The Earth\u2019s Resources) group, to Wood River High\u2019s Nosotros United (We are united). Here is a look into what each is bringing to the political table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raising leaders locally<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The City of Ketchum Recreation Department recently announced the launch of its Youth Recreation Leadership Program. The three-week training program is offered to youth between the ages of 12 and 14 to foster leadership, personal growth and development through volunteerism, a specialized curriculum and group collaboration. It will start in June.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the training period, the program gives opportunity to work as a volunteer for youth recreation supervisors and assistants at the summer youth recreation program for two to five additional weeks. Successful graduates of the program will be invited to return as a paid summer youth recreation assistant the following year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The program was started by Crystal England, who has worked for the City of Ketchum since November as a youth recreation supervisor. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen examining the summer youth program, it was evident there was a need for preteen and teen programming,\u201d said England. \u201cInstead of competing with all the adventure opportunities and sports in the Wood River Valley, I decided to create a program that will empower youth by providing free access to leadership skills and support young people\u2019s personal growth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The program is designed to be an opportunity for preteens to begin to develop leadership skills and their sense of efficacy\u2014specifically, how much change they might bring about in later years, whether in high school or later in their lifetimes. Some of the benefits of the program, according to England, are:<\/span><\/p>\n

Fostering future stewards, staff, board members, volunteers, advocates and benefactors<\/span><\/p>\n

Helping young people gain the skills and knowledge to lead civic engagement, education reform and community organizing activities<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating a network of hardworking dedicated youth volunteers to support programming and other recreation operations and projects<\/span><\/p>\n

England has an extensive background in environmental education and implemented a similar program nine years ago in Minnesota, which she said was very successful. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like implementing a similar program could be a huge benefit for the recreation department and community,\u201d England said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

W.A.T.E.R. makes a big splash<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Before the March 18 Hailey Town Hall meeting, one may not have heard of W.A.T.E.R. But after the Wood River High School environmental activist group\u2019s co-president, Abbie Heaphy, made her voice heard, the adults in the room couldn\u2019t stop talking about it. Heaphy called for the creation of a Department of Environmental Health by the city, a department that could focus on increasing the general knowledge of any project\u2019s impact to climate change and on using development practices that align with clean-environment goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is just one of many goals for the club, which is also led by co-president and sister of Heaphy, Britta Heaphy. The club meets once a week and works on projects both within their school and the community to promote positive environmental change. One project they have completed thus far is implementing blue \u201chow-to\u201d recycling signs at all local recycling centers and they have several other projects on the horizon. For instance, the group is currently working on a hand-dryer initiative at the high school. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe school uses about 6,000 paper towels a day and we are working to alleviate this issue,\u201d Heaphy said. \u201cWe want to provide an alternative to this wasteful practice. Our name stands for \u2018we appreciate the earth\u2019s resources\u2019 and this not only stands for our name but also our philosophy.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The group is also gearing up to give out free reusable bags at local grocery stores once a month to bring awareness to the need for reusable bags instead of single-use bags. \u201cWe are in the midst of an environmental crisis and as a group we firmly believe there is something we can do,\u201d Heaphy said. \u201cWe need to work together as a club, local community, and globe to form innovative solutions to help our environment. Our goal is to preserve the Earth\u2019s resources. And whether giving out reusable bags, speaking at a town hall meeting about need for action or providing environmentally-friendly alternatives to paper towels, we are working toward our goals to better our Earth.\u00a0This group has enabled us to share our passion with others around us, while inspiring, empowering and educating others on how to preserve our Earth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Saying \u2018yes\u2019 to Nosotros United<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Also present at that same town hall meeting was Wood River High School junior and member of the leadership committee of the Nosostros United club, Amy Aranda. The club is dedicated to bringing together white and Latino students both in school and the community. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the meeting, Aranda asked city officials and residents to consider developing a multiuse facility where youth could safely hang out, a proposal that seeks to help both the community and the goals of the club. Started in 2017, Nosotros United is made up of 48 members who meet weekly to work toward their mission statement of \u201cpromoting the blending of cultures and ambitious dreams for all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I heard about this club and their intentions, I was immediately intrigued,\u201d Aranda said. \u201cThe whole concept that we could bring different cultures together by coordinating events fascinates me and is another step closer to cultural equity.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Aranda said she believes the club may be the answer to find equanimity in our school and Valley. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to have a diverse group of students become part of our club and involved in community events, where youth can be seen, heard and maintain hope in humanity,\u201d Aranda said.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Hayden Seder Children are the future. And if recent local activism is any indication, the children of Blaine County are starting to realize that if they want a future that reflects their values, they need to take action now. There has been a growing movement of activism among youth of the Valley, which can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,18,36],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-news","9":"category-slider"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}