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Powell, OH — On November 7 and 8, 2024, more than 300 Central Ohio high school students will convene at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium for the Teen Eco Summit. The Teen Eco Summit is a free, student-driven program where teams create Conservation Action Plans to help create sustainability and conservation-based change within their schools and communities.
During the summit, global experts will talk to students about conservation, sustainability, and leadership, and the students will work with peers from around Ohio to brainstorm potential solutions to real world conservation challenges. Back at their schools, students then work together in teams composed of four to seven high school students and one advisor to prepare the Conservation Action Plans to drive change within their schools and communities. This program continues throughout the year with participants connecting with community partners to learn vital skills that will help their projects. Participants also have the opportunity to apply for grant funding. The Summit concludes in the spring with a celebration event during which they share their projects with their peers and community partners, providing the opportunity to learn from others and plan for the future.
This year’s Teen Eco Summit programming will focus on climate change and mental health, and effective methods of raising awareness about students’ conservation action plans. The program will conclude with a keynote address from representatives of HUTAN, one of the Zoo’s conservation partners. HUTAN’s mission is to conserve threatened habitats and wildlife species in Sabah, Malaysia, and to promote the sustainable management of natural ecosystems by empowering local communities and developing mutually beneficial stakeholder partnerships. The keynote speakers will be Dato Ahbam Abulani, HUTAN Program Field Manager and Supervisor of the Pangi Swiftlet Recovery Program, and Noratika Binti Husir, HUTAN Environmental Awareness Program (HEAP).
The program will also feature a Community Partner Resource Fair, which will welcome the following:
- Fifth Third Bank
- AEP Ohio
- Columbus Rec and Parks
- Franklin County Soil and Water
- Franklin Park Conservatory
- Green Columbus
- National Audubon Society
- Ohio EPA
- Polar Bears International
- SWACO
The Teen Eco Summit began in 2017 and has since doubled in size. This year, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) also announced that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium received a Significant Achievement recognition in its Education Award for the Teen Eco Summit. The AZA Education Award recognizes outstanding achievement in educational program design, judging programs on their ability to promote conservation knowledge, attitudes and behavior, show innovation, and measure success.
Examples of past projects have included:
- Awareness campaign on the impacts of idling cars in the school pick up line (Columbus Academy)
- Sustainable farm focusing on pollinator plots, pumpkins, and Christmas trees (Gahanna Employability Adult Readiness)
- Upcycling clothing (Delaware Hayes) and clothing swaps (Upper Arlington)
- Plastic grocery bag collection to create "thread" to crochet mats for unhoused populations (Hilliard Davidson)
“To develop conservation solutions, it is crucial to empower people to create real and meaningful change. We are extremely proud that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium hosted the first Teen Eco Summit in Ohio and that this collaboration has grown to make an even bigger impact thanks to the collaborative efforts of these dedicated and innovative students and advisors,” said Becky Nellis, Director of Curriculum and Community Partnerships in the Columbus Zoo’s Conservation Education & Engagement department.
The Teen Eco Summit is made possible by presenting sponsor Battelle and generously supported by Fifth Third Bank. Battelle is an internationally recognized science and innovation center in Central Ohio, and their generous support funds the event and some of the grants provided to students to execute their projects. Organizations including Fifth Third Bank, AEP Ohio, Kroger and The Ohio State University have also contributed student project grants totaling over $60,000 over the past six years.
For additional updates about the Columbus Zoo’s educational programs, events, and more, be sure to follow the Zoo’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok, and visit us at ColumbusZoo.org.
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About the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Home to more than 10,000 animals representing over 600 species worldwide, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium leads by making a positive impact on people, wildlife, and wild places. The Zoo complex is a recreational and education destination that includes the 22-acre Zoombezi Bay water park and 18-hole Safari Golf Club. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium also manages The Wilds, a 10,000-acre conservation center and safari park located in southeastern Ohio. The Zoo is a wildlife conservation organization with regional, national and global impact, annually supporting conservation and research projects locally and worldwide.
