Student Interns
Anwen Hudson
As a young child I developed an interest and concern for the environment. After watching a documentary on the plastics crisis, I was so distraught that I called Coca-Cola to demand that they use less plastic!
When the Eco Club at DISHS formed, I joined immediately. Since then, the group has worked hard to create a more sustainable school system and community. My work has largely focused on reducing plastics and composting. Most recently, we distributed our homemade beeswax wraps to the community.
Moving forward from high school, I will be studying environmental sciences and public policy at Smith College. The work our group is doing has been an inspiration and will stick with me as I move past DISHS
Anwen wrote a letter to the Deer Isle Stonington High School board on behalf of the Eco Club about reducing plastics use.
Henry Penfold
A junior at Deer Isle-Stonington High School, Henry is a member of the Eco Team. Henry has always taken an interest in nature and the environment, and over the years he has conducted numerous beach cleanups. He has worked with his two older brothers as Maine Island Trail Association island stewards of Big and Little Sheep Islands, making many trips to the islands and bringing back boat loads of collected trash, mostly plastics. In recent months he has walked most of the coastline of Deer Isle, picking up trash as he explores.
Through joining Climate Action Net, Henry hopes to undertake larger projects locally, like joining the effort to transition the high school to solar power. As an intern he also wants to raise awareness for the climate crisis by educating himself and others. Henry lives in Deer Isle, where he enjoys rowing, running, biking, underwater photography, and playing piano.
Eco Club - Advocates for Changes
Deer Isle Stonington High School
CAN Interns Who’ve Graduated
CAN interns move on with their lives after high school graduation. We thank them for being part of this inter-generational effort to address the climate emergency and develop science-based policy. How grateful we are for our CAN high school and college climate interns!
Anna Trowbridge is a student at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Maine, where she is a co-founder of the Eco Club. When not in school, she can usually be found making art, baking, or playing steel pan. She takes climate action seriously because she sees environmental justice as the culmination of all facets of social justice. She has participated in several major CAN climate education events. Anna is particularly empathetic with those who are disproportionately affected by climate change, and is leading an effort to establish a local Earth Guardians chapter. She has recently had a showing of her paintings at the Reversing Falls Sanctuary.
Video of Anna reading her poem, You Shall Reap What You Sow. It questions the thinking of adults which led to our climate crisis. This offering is part of CAN's inter-generational dialogue project. It took place in the Greenhouse of the Tent Project (12/23/20) which is dedicated to community resilience and local food-security (see Affiliate Organization tab for more details).
Riley Stevenson is a junior at Lincoln Academy and lives in Waldoboro, Maine. She began climate organizing as a member of Maine Youth for Climate Justice and is currently the Coordination Director of Maine Youth Climate Strikes. Since joining that group, she has helped organize climate strikes and a local climate emergency campaign, as well as connecting youth groups and adult organizations statewide. More recently, she and some fellow youth activists founded the Coastal Youth Climate Coalition, a group working to connect students and start community initiatives in the Midcoast and Downeast areas. She is the co-president of her school's Climate Action Club, a board member of the Maine Youth Environmental Association, and a Climate Action Net intern. She has recently co-coordinated three virtual Earth Week 2020 events, including the Maine Senatorial Candidates Debate. Riley is the recipient of the Berman and Simmons Youth Leader Award for 2020.
This video belongs to NCRM
Magnolia Vandiver has always been interested in climate justice. She has started little personal initiatives, such as flying as little as possible and making all her clothes and shoes, but she wants to be more helpful in the larger community. She sold crafts for several years at the Common Ground Fair YEZ tent to raise money for Sustainable Harvest, donating a total of more than $3000 in three years. Magnolia is a co-founder of the George Stevens Academy Eco-club. She was invited to speak at the Climate Convergence Conference. A poem that she had written about climate change was chosen as one of the finalists in a competition organized by Rob Shetterly of Americans Who Tell the Truth. Magnolia is a ‘spoken word’ performer. She hopes to make a bigger impact on her community, her school and the world, because climate change cannot be ignored.
Video of Magnolia reading a poem of her choice and expressing her thoughts about the importance of a multi-generational effort to address climate change. It took place in the Greenhouse of the Tent Project (12/23/20) which is dedicated to community resilience and local food-security (see Affiliate Organization tab for more details).This offering is part of CAN's inter-generational dialogue project. To join the conversation, go to the Climate Conversations tab on the home page.