MCPS 2025 Youth Climate Summit

MCPS hosted its annual Youth Climate Summit on Saturday, April 5 at Julius West Middle School. The event brought together nearly 200 middle and high school students from across the county where they learned about climate issues, connected with other students and designed action projects to make a difference in their own community. 

“The Youth Climate Summit is a special, one-of-a-kind event,” said Quinley Borden, sophomore at Richard Montgomery High School and this year’s event MC. “It gives students the tools and connections to make change in their schools, communities and daily lives. It’s a great opportunity to learn and build connections with other student groups and organizations working on climate issues in MCPS.”

Craig Staton, principal of Julius West Middle School, offered opening remarks. Sarah Kogel-Smucker, Montgomery County’s climate change officer, was the keynote speaker. Superintendent Thomas Taylor stopped by to offer his support, as did various environmental groups from across the county. The Student Climate Action Council planned the event, volunteered during the event and members Brendyn Illiff, Walter Sha, Megan Stallard and Quinley Borden led a panel discussion.

Students participated in workshops on a variety of topics, including MCPS’ current environmental efforts, breaking down complex challenges into actionable steps and strategies for effective student advocacy. Students also planted shrubs. Lunch was provided; leftovers were donated to Rise N Shine Foundation to feed the food-insecure in the community. 

“There was little to no waste from the event,” said Adria (Nikki) Snyder, MCPS Pre-K-12 science instructional Specialist specialist and event lead. “Food scraps, plates, utensils and even used boxes of water were all composted.”

The end of the day gave students a chance to reflect and create their own personal climate action plans—an opportunity to create change in their own communities. 

“This year, I was most looking forward to seeing the students’ personal climate action plans,” said Borden. “These plans reflected what students’ learned and how they plan to implement change.”