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Authored by: Erin Kruse, Program Assistant
As a young person just getting started in the fight for our collective future, my short time with CEP has broadened my perspective and deepened my commitment to doing the work to get it right. As you read my year in review, I hope my reflections resonate with you and inspire you to further support our work.
Summer Internships
I mentored five talented interns over the summer across three programmatic areas: Collaborative Strategy, Youth Outreach, and Climate + Health Outreach.
Our interns dove into energy justice, researched and analyzed community health profiles, and collaborated with
Top: Turner Seals, Erin Kruse; Middle: Erica Flores, Brenda Zaragoza; Bottom: Búverley Trezile, paradyse oakley
several organizations to create a youth network. Their final presentations to CEP staff and board members gave incredible insight that will continue to impact our work into the future.
Outside of the projects they completed, our interns were witty, thought-provoking, and eager to know more. I saw our interns as my peers—a group of young advocates in the climate space who always brought energy and vigor to jumpstart the workweek.
Although we’ve said our farewells, I carry with me their spirit to go the extra mile in advocating for a better, more resilient future for all.
KEY Network
My first introduction to CEP was as an undergraduate at WEALTH Day in 2019. Since then, CEP has started engaging youth in the environmental movement through the beginnings of the Kansas Environmental Youth (KEY) Network.
The idea of KEY Network started from discussions held at CEP’s 2020 WEALTH Day Youth Panel. KEY Network became more than an idea through the work of
several fantastic interns who planned and proposed the network, began initial contact with existing environmental organizations across Kansas, and laid the groundwork for KEY Network to launch.
As an intern advisor, I helped co-facilitate several initial planning sessions and will continue to serve as an outreach coordinator for the network. I have high hopes for this network to be a resource and a hub to all young climate activists across Kansas—a space where we can build power in community with one another and lead the climate movement forward.
Be on the lookout in 2022, as KEY Network launches!
Douglas County Climate Action Planning
For the last several months, CEP and Sunrise Project have been working together, in partnership with Douglas County Sustainability Office, to support ten Community Coordinators as they
document the experiences of Douglas County residents to ensure that the Climate Action Plan reflects the lived realities of all of our community members.
As I’ve begun to step into a larger role in this project, I am learning what it takes to be in partnership with others and how to build trust. As important as the end goal is, so too is fostering connections that withstand the life of a project. Our organizations have had hard conversations to ensure we get the process right. I’m thankful for our partnership in the Sunrise Project—for their care and consideration throughout this process to have open and honest dialog with us.
Our Community Coordinators are wrapping up their final interviews this month. While reflecting on the progress they’ve made, I am inspired by their vulnerability with one another; their commitment to being intentional throughout the project; and their passion to ensure the voices they uplift are embedded into every step of the planning process. To me, this project exemplifies the way forward: committing ourselves to the hard parts of forming partnerships; empowering communities to tell their own narrative; and building power together in a way that will continue to shape our communities long after a project is completed.
In this letter, I focused on how CEP’s work has impacted me personally. My hope is that you’ll see our work is never quite done. Our programs, projects, and everything in between shape our perspectives, our steps forward, and how we continue to advocate for a healthy + resilient Kansas for all.
The impact of CEP is far-reaching and multi-faceted. In our work, we are guided by principles to connect people, organizations, and ideas; present science-based facts; facilitate critical thinking and community engagement; and co-create equitable and productive solutions. Our impact can only reach so far without you, however. Thank you for your continued support, for engaging in our programming, and for your donations. We couldn’t do this without you.
