 Amara will be speaking tonight. So Future Focus is a speaker series featuring Maine's youth climate justice activists. Young adults that Maine are innovating, organizing and leading efforts to connect and address the most pressing social and environmental issues we face. And many have garnered statewide national and international recognition and accolades. So this is a youth-led monthly webinar series highlighting youth climate justice activists and their stories from across the state. Each one-hour session is focusing on a different individual in the intersectional leadership work they are doing in their community and beyond. So tonight, it's Amara Fiji. And on January 5th at 4.30 p.m. we'll be with Sarohi Kumar facing a climate emergency. We ask that you keep your camera off and you stay muted while Amara is presenting. At the end, we will have a Q&A session. You can turn your camera on for this session, but please stay muted. And while Amara is talking at any point, you can put a question in the chat. We'll be answering these questions at the end. If this will be recorded and is being recorded, so if you're uncomfortable being in the recording, no pressure to turn your camera on at the end. So again, thanks for being here. Drop any questions you have in the chat that we'll answer at the end. And I'll hand it over to our presenter tonight, Amara Fiji. Awesome, thank you so much, Anna. And thank you all for joining us tonight. As a bit of an introduction, my name is Amara. First and foremost, I'm a college student. I go to Northeastern. And I'm also the grassroots development coordinator for the Main Environmental Education Association. And I'm just gonna be speaking to my stories and my lived experiences in this work and the environmental sector and how that really prompted me to, I guess, go out and be the change that I wanna see in the world in terms of this sector. So I guess we can start with Kido Amara. I really, really liked playing outside. And I think that that pretty much holds for all environmental stewards or climate justice activists that call or connection to place with the environment. And so that was pretty different because growing up, I didn't really have much of any space to play outside where I lived, but I still found ways to connect with the environment. And in school, the environment still remained something that I was so interested in. And I really wanted to learn more about it beyond exploring in the dirt but actually in a classroom setting. But despite that, I didn't receive much of any formal environmental education. I think that I would say that the only kind of environmental or outdoor learning that I had was recess, but I don't really count that, of course. And so I would say that there's such a big difference of learning in a classroom setting about the outdoors and actually engaging with the outdoors. Of course, I was taught about things like our ecosystems and the beautiful main woods and our beautiful landscapes. But to me, there was a huge difference between learning about those and looking at pictures and actually going outside and engaging with the beautiful landscape that our state has to offer. And so because I was not really getting much of this education that I was seeking in a classroom setting, that's when I really started to self-seek these learning opportunities. And so in that, I, in high school was the president of my school's stormwater management and research team. And as part of that group, I worked, I would say almost weekly from about April to just when the snow started to fall. And I went out each week and sampled the Penobscot in order to ensure that that river was safe for recreational use. And I just remembered so, so, so loving going out into the field and exploring and just uncovering the story of the Penobscot watershed. I also in high school was a, I was part of the STEM program at my school. And so I was able to further engage with my passion through having an independent research project that was focused around the Flint, Michigan water crisis and trying to resolve heavy metal contamination in drinking water. And I so, so loved engaging with the environment and learning more about the outdoors and uncovering that I always say this to people that I started off, exploring in the dirt. And up until I was 18 years old, I was still playing in the dirt through my research project and things of that sort. And yes, the environment was one of my passions, but another one of my passions was advocating for social issues, particularly those of racial justice as I am a BIPOC individual living in the state of Maine. And so in doing so at my school, I formed the Multicultural Student Union, which was a group of BIPOC students who convened once a week to talk about their lived experiences and the things that they faced at our school. I also led some racial discrimination advocacy efforts at my school, which led to some great policy change in my school department. And I had my environmental action and I had my racial justice work, but I kind of put them in two different boxes. I never saw an intersection within my two passions. And that was until I attended the Maine Environmental Education Association Changemakers gathering my sophomore year of high school when I was 16. And I really do think that that was the experience that just prompted me to begin engaging in this work to become a changemaker and to push for this change that I was seeking in the world. There I learned about the intersection of social issues and environmental issues through hearing from speakers like Vic Barrett, who is on the Giuliana versus the government case where in which youth are suing the government for knowingly putting them in harm in terms of the environment. And I just became so impassioned, further impassioned about these issues that I have been working on knowing that there is a link, that there's an intersection within them. And in further exploring that link, that intersection, I began reflecting on, of course, my lived experiences. And I recognize things in my past and things like in terms of socioeconomic status, that was a barrier to access that I had in terms of fostering a connection to place with the environment. I grew up with a mother who was in school. So, and my father also was in school and education was really something that was always pushed for me. But in doing so, that was a sacrifice because it's hard to have, of course, a full-time job and go to school as well. So in that being a barrier, I remember that snow pants and things in snow boots were things that couldn't really be afforded. And thus, I wasn't really able to connect with the environment, especially during the winter months and things like that. I remember that outings, environmental outings were few and far between because of course, being where I am, one has to travel. And of course, there are travel expenses associated with going out and things like that. So just connecting back to these social issues being very much so part of what is known as environmental equity and my socioeconomic status being representative of that. And then also just analyzing my lived experiences as well. Race was another factor that played into a barrier to access to the outdoors as well as not being able to foster that connection to the environment. My mother was very, very apprehensive in me going outside, especially at nighttime because I am a black individual and there is of course in the black community stigma around being outside when it is nighttime. And there is this narrative that when one is engaging with the outdoors, that's not typically what black individuals or BIPOC individuals do. So because of that stigma, because black people don't go skiing or black people don't go camping. I, as a black individual did not go skiing, I did not go camping and I did not have a way to connect with the outdoors in that sense because of that stigma. And it really just made me think, is it the stigma itself that was the barrier or was it the fear? I think that there has been a perpetuated fear by individuals who haven't been able to connect with the outdoors because it is the unknown, it's the uncertain. And so in that it is a thing that causes fear in one. And I know that I had fear as well. I was scared to do all of these things to go out and engage with the outdoors because I didn't know how to. I didn't really have that connection to space or with the outdoors or anything like that. And I recognized that it was really my lived experiences that prompted me to be engaged in this work as it is. If I had not recognized that there was a link between environmental and social justice issues, I don't really think that I would be in this work. And I think that really speaks to what is effective in advocating for the environment. I always say that there are very few people who just look at graphs of the environment. There are very few people who just look at graphs of CO2 trends over time and say, yes, I get it. This is my passion and this is what I'm gonna spend the rest of my life doing. I've only met one person who has done that. But most people, after hearing stories and having a connection to place with the environment, that's when they wanna get prompt. That's when they are prompted to actually engage with the outdoors to spark change and to protect it. And so that was really the case for me as well. And I recognize of course that these experiences that I have, these barriers, they were not unique to just me. They were, they are and they're faced by millions of people all over the world. And I really made an effort or rather am making an effort to make sure that individuals do not have those barriers because it's so, so important that one has a connection to place with the environment and the outdoors because one is not going to let the thing that they love become ruined. One is not going to let that thing be destroyed. And in the case of the outdoors with the environmental exploitation and natural disasters that we have going on, one is going to be more prompted to take action around issues such as environmental exploitation and climate change if they have a connection to place with the outdoors. So through my work as grassroots development coordinator with the Main Environmental Education Association, I've led a couple of efforts to allow individuals, especially those from marginalized backgrounds to recognize that the environments and the outdoors is not just a place for an individual who looks this way or who has these resources, but it is a human right. So Mia, my organization collaborates with the Nature-Based Education Consortium. And through the Nature-Based Education Consortium I am the co-chair of the communications task force and we are currently working on a storytelling initiative for individuals, BIPOC individuals in particular to share their stories in the outdoors. And these are not just the success stories of a field trip or an excursion that prompted an individual to see that this is a place that I belong in but also the stories that are not so nice. The stories that really allow people to see that this is not something that everyone feels comfortable in because I think that in allowing people to see that that's really what's going to prompt change. So we're currently working on gathering those stories and hearing from BIPOC individuals. Similarly, as part of the Nature-Based Education Consortium Climate Education Task Force, the task force recently proposed a set of recommendations to the main climate council around climate change education and not just climate change education in the sense of looking at climate change through a scientific lens solely but also looking at climate change through a social justice lens that will prompt students to take action around the issues that they see and they learn about. Similarly, through a collaborative project with Campaign Earth called Just Me for Just Us, this past election cycle, we ran a campaign around voting climate consciously and really making sure that youth and other marginalized communities know that they have so much power when it comes to addressing the climate crisis, especially in voting and making sure that the individuals who are in office are also individuals who are advocating for environmental protection. And lastly, through Mia, we recently just finished or wrapped up our mini-grant that was launched. I think it was during Teacher Appreciation Day and looking at the stats of that mini-grant, it looks as though we will give funding to a total seventh of all the public schools in the state of Maine, which is just so, so amazing and makes my heart so happy knowing that this funding can be used for students to, of course, get that connection to the environment that will prompt them to spark the change that they wanna see. And so once again, all of these efforts are, of course, to help youth recognize that they have a place in the environment to help BIPOC individuals recognize those who come from socioeconomically underserved backgrounds to recognize this. There is not a single narrative. There's not a single person. There's not a single story of an individual who belongs in the environment and who belongs in the outdoors because everyone belongs in the outdoors. Everyone has a place in the environment. And that connection to the environment is really what is going to help resolve the environmental issues that we currently face because as I said, one is, one who is passionate about something will not let that thing die or be destroyed or anything because if one truly cares about something, they will make sure with that passion that the issue around it is resolved. And that just about concludes my presentation and I'm gonna pass it over to Anna so that we can start the Q and A. Thanks, Samara. It was awesome to hear from you. So anyone, so just quick reminder that to please put questions in the chat, you can now turn on your camera at this time to create more of a community space as we do a Q and A. We are recording, so if you do not want your face to be in the recording, feel the pressure to turn on your camera. I'm gonna start with a question I have. As we wait for people to think of some things to put in the chat, but I was wondering, what is your vision for the youth movement in the next five years? In this, you know, definitely intersectional environmental work and other kinds of justice work. Yeah, thanks so much for that question, Anna. My vision for the youth movement in the next five years, honestly in the next 50 years, is that it really remains the same. I think that the youth climate movement, the environmental movement is so, so, so amazing. I know that only a few years ago, there was very few and far between youth who were advocating for environmental protection and for climate justice solutions. And now, across the globe, there are millions of youth working towards this. And I think that in recognizing that it's a youth movement, I think it's also important to highlight that within the youth movement, intergenerational collaboration, I think is something that is so important as well, because I cannot even name the things that I have learned from adults in this work. And it makes my heart so happy to say that those adults have learned from me as well. So I think that intergenerational collaboration is also so important and something that I hope remains in the youth climate and environmental movements. And lastly, I hope that what I'm seeing now is that the issues of pertaining to the environment, they are huge. They are on a global scale and that's really daunting if a 16-year-old is looking at those issues and wants to spark change. And I think it's much easier to spark change in one's community and as a local effort than it is to, for say, to speak at some UN Global Climate Conference. So I would say that within the youth movement, I hope that a lot of local advocacy continues because I think that that is just a wonderful way for one to connect to global efforts in sparking change in this movement. Yeah, definitely adult allies. I think are key to a lot of work. Definitely helped me as well. I started with the adult allies. I started with teachers. Similar to that, Melissa asked, what are some examples of things that adults can do to help main youth connect directly to the outdoors? What would have helped you? Yeah, I think that what would have helped me was just more learning opportunities. Like I said, a lot of the learning opportunities that I engaged with when learning about the outdoors, when connecting with the outdoors, were self-sought. I would have hoped that instead of learning about, you know, the ecosystems of Maine in a classroom and just looking at the pictures on like the Promethean board that we had to actually have gone out to the Bangor forest which was right next to my school and be able to explore those ecosystems and things of that sort in a way that, you know, I could connect with it in real time because like I said, it's really different, of course. I can look at a picture for days around the environment and admire it in that way. But there is just a different feeling, a different connection when one actually gets to touch and feel and scope out the environment with their own eyes and their other senses. So I think that in terms of education, that more opportunities to engage with the outdoors would have helped me and I hope those will be implemented. Another thing is around that, I didn't receive much of any climate education which is something that I would have hoped to have had. And so that's why in this work that I do, advocating for climate justice education is something that is really at the forefront of I guess my priorities as an activist. Awesome. Mackie asks, I'm a third grade teacher in Lewiston working with many BIPOC students from low income backgrounds. What do you think is the biggest priority for me to help support my students in this area besides plenty of opportunities for outside learning on our nature trail? So I guess taking what you said further, what is the biggest priority beyond just learning outside? I think that the major issue in this work is of course funding. As a student, I would have hoped to have coats and gloves and snow pants and boots and all of those things, especially in winter, as well as other outdoor gear. But of course funding is always, a problem is always an issue. But I know that there are a bunch of different sites where one can request funding and things of that sort to help the students who might come from socioeconomically underserved backgrounds like I did. So I would say that is one thing, but I also think that it's very important to incorporate story and storytelling in one's work and in fostering a connection with the environment and the outdoors, especially success stories, of course. If I heard a story about how another BIPOC individual like myself had an amazing time and connection with the outdoors, I think that would have really prompted me to get over the uncertainty, to get over the unknown and just go out and engage. So I think those stories are really important. Finding those stories and telling those stories, highlighting those stories would be something that looking back would have served me so greatly. And I think that will serve your students very greatly in hearing those. Fantastic, where do you see your work going in the future? I know that can be a complicated question because often activism is very of the moment of the issue that's happening. But I guess if you almost had a passion project or something like that. Yeah, in five years, I'm not sure to be frank. I do see myself still engaged in this work and continuing it. I think if one finds their passion, the thing that they know they can spend the rest of their life doing, even if it is at my only 18 years of age, that one should continue that and continue to do the thing that they love. So I do of course still see myself in this work. I have guess been working at like a statewide level through Mia, but I hope to work, I guess at a national level. Still of course grassroots organizing, but I guess can further connecting communities to one another to really help mobilize the climate justice efforts in this country. So Jessica asks, how can the traditional environmental and conservation movement get better at addressing these intersectional issues along with anti-racism? Yeah, that's a great question. I think that I'll preface with saying that in order to get comfortable, in order to be in a place where not just one person feels comfortable, but everyone in that work feels comfortable, one needs to get uncomfortable, I'm a huge advocate for some pretty game-shaking systems change. And so because of that, I think that one really needs to look internally in their work and in the things that they do. What are one's practices? Do they have equity within those practices? Are they formed, you know, thinking of not just one individual or one community, but all individuals in all communities? And I think that in analyzing that, if one can say, yes, you know, I have equity in all of the practices that I do, I'm really all the thing, the work that I do really benefits all communities, then that is really when one can say that, you know, they are addressing these issues in an intersectional way, but if one cannot say yes to those questions, I think that what is really called for is some work at the internal level to make sure that first and foremost, the practices that the organization or, yeah, the organization or the nonprofit is implementing that those are really what is rooted in addressing these issues of equity. And through my work at MIA, we actually have these organizational equity calls once a month where we help folks to recognize their organizational practices and things of that sort and how to really root these practices in equity in order to ensure that they are intersectional and they do address these issues of racism and other issues pertaining to social justice. Fantastic. So Rick asks, are you aware of any city, states or school systems in which environmental or climate education has been incorporated into a standard curriculum so beyond just like a special class or a college course only for the environmental policy majors, et cetera? Yeah, I know that there's quite a few but the first one that comes to mind is the state, there's two that comes to mind actually, the state of Washington has their climb time, climate education efforts. And I must say that I don't know enough to be dangerous about it but I know that it has really inspired a lot of change and that it is being implemented in public schools to ensure that students are receiving climate change education. And then similarly, I know the state of New Jersey and their first lady is she really led the efforts to have a mandatory climate change and climate justice oriented education components into the curriculum for all K through 12 students. And I think these policies are so, so amazing. And I would hope that all states adopt these policies so that students can learn about climate change. And to go further to that, I would say that I hope that students, don't just learn about climate change but learn about climate justice and how the issues of climate change are related to these social justice issues. And second, that is incredibly important. So this is a last call for questions. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So do you have any comments or thoughts about the education recommendations in the climate action plan released by the main climate council? The main climate council released the climate action plan today, actually. So if you, of course, like not expected to be an expert on it already, but if you have looked over or have any thoughts about that? Yeah, I must say that I have not looked at those yet. I know that there's some kind of events being held by main conservation voters tomorrow, like a debrief for those who, like myself, are, who don't really read those things but prefer a presentation. But I think that maybe Anya, if I can tag you around those recommendations. Sure, yeah. So Amara and I both worked with the Nature-Based Education Consortium, which Amara mentioned in her talk, to come up with some recommendations for the main climate council on education. And they kind of half made it into the plan. And so looking forward to continuing to work with Amara and the Nature-Based Education Task Force to make sure that things like what's happening in New Jersey that Amara was just talking about start to come to Maine. So hopefully that's a good answer. Amara, feel free to embellish. Thanks Anya. Yeah, I think I also feel that as well. Hopefully, you know, the great work that's happening across the country in terms of climate education efforts comes to Maine as well. Great. Amara, do you have any last thoughts or words that you'd like to share with the group? I would just say first and foremost, thank you all so much for joining us this evening. And I would also say that if you are an educator and work with youth, even if it's not in a traditional environmental space, that it's really important to encourage youth to play outside to say, you know, it's really cool to be a tree hugger. I think the statistic is that youth get about only eight minutes of outdoor time each day. Eight minutes is not enough. Eight minutes is really not enough, especially when you're trying to build a relationship with the outdoors. So I would say to adults who work with youth, especially that it's really important that one advocates and shares with their youth that engaging with the outdoors is something that is truly so, so important in this work. Great. Well, I guess I echo Amara's sentiment. I thank you all for coming. The next Future Focus Talk is January 5th, 4.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. with Swahee Kumar, facing a climate emergency. You can register right here. The link is in the chat. And thank you all so much and have a great evening.