📸 RI Youth Climate Conference - Check out the event photos!
Mary Dolan
On Saturday, November 8, 2025, teams of teens and adult mentors from across Rhode Island gathered for the Rhode Island Youth Climate Conference, a day of climate learning, collaboration, and action planning.
The day started off with an energizing collaborative art project led by AGONZA. Then teams learned how to talk about climate change with anyone with Kait Birghenthal from NNOCCI. After an inspiring keynote presentation with Chris Gaynor of RIDEM, teams participated in a keynote reflection walk and talk around the zoo. Then youth and adults split for their own workshops. Youth panelists James Tzul, Frank Jolifier, Abby Paull, and Ethan Paiva shared stories of creativity, community, and climate leadership and answered questions during a “round”table discussion. Adult mentors worked with SJ Jennings on building youth-adult partnerships.
Finally, Andrea Stein and Jeanine Silversmith shared next steps for creating a climate action plan and ways to get support and funding to bring their projects to life.
Shoutout to teams from Groundwork RI, Sophia Academy, Girls Scouts of Southeastern New England/15 Minute Field Trips, School One, Climate Action RI Youth Team, The Green School, East Bay (combined team of Barrington and Bristol-Warren youth), Coventry, Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Center, Young Voices RI, and Ripples of Change RI.
Big thank you to our sponsors: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Papitto Opportunity Connection, Rotary Club of Wakefield, RI, Rhode Island AFL-CIO, REI, and Frog & Toad Press.
This event was more than just a conference, it was a space for bringing together the next generation of Rhode Island leaders and building community.
