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EQB spotlights 'Roots for the Future' youth internship; students present projects on pollinators, food justice and community health
Summary
EQB hosted students from a summer "Roots for the Future" program run by Environmental Initiative; students presented project work on pollinators, urban heat islands, food systems and overdose prevention, and staff said EQB will continue youth engagement.
The Environmental Quality Board received presentations from student participants in a summer youth program, Roots for the Future, run by Environmental Initiative and supported by EQB staff engagement. Program leads described a six-week internship that introduced youth (roughly ages 14–18) from across the Twin Cities to climate, pollinators, food systems, community health and advocacy skills.
Tanya Dron, program lead with Environmental Initiative, said the program emphasized trauma-informed community care and practical skills: tree plantings at Frogtown Farms, barge trips, pollinator and urban-heat-island studies, food-justice workshops and public-speaking and advocacy practice. Participants received stipends and professional-development supports.
Student presentations: several interns spoke in person and by recorded video. Presentations and themes included a spoken-word piece titled “More Than Going Green,” gardening and food-system work, tree-planting and urban-canopy awareness, pollinator and monarch butterfly education, and community health topics such as overdose reversal (naloxone/Narcan) and gun-violence prevention. Interns described learning teamwork, public speaking, basic advocacy skills, and interest in continuing study or work in environmental and community health fields.
Why it matters: board members and Commissioner Brooke Cunningham (Minnesota Department of Health) praised the program for building leadership and public-health awareness among youth from historically underrepresented communities. EQB staff said they plan to continue youth engagement and explore longer-term program formats, such as after‑school options, and to look for ways to sustain the program’s funding and mentoring capacity.
Ending: staff invited board members to suggest future topics or partnerships; several board members praised the students and offered to serve as references for participants seeking jobs or further opportunities.
