The Youth Climate Institute is a program of the Howard County Conservancy. YCI began in 2021 in response to students’ requests to stay engaged with environmental education and climate action during the pandemic. The positive response continued to grow, with so many interested students that growing new chapters was the only way to serve the burgeoning interest among students.
Our Team
Jessica Kohout
Youth Climate Institute Manager
Ann Strozyk
Environmental Educator
Blaire Ridgely
Education Assistant
Gabby Rose
YCI Development and Marketing Manager
Climate change is such a pressing and even overwhelming problem that it becomes so easy to simply give up. For me, the Howard County Conservancy’s Youth Climate Institute is a reassurance that people all over the world and in my community are making an effort to stop climate change, as well as creating an avenue to actually participate in that effort. It means the world to me that our lives and our futures aren’t being overlooked or ignored.
The Youth Climate Institute has been an amazing experience. I enjoyed learning about climate change and directly having an impact on my community. Collaborating with mentors and making positive changes in my community showed me what I can do.
Program of the Howard County Conservancy
The Howard County Conservancy is a 501(c)3 organization that celebrated 30 years of mission-focused service to our community in 2020. Our mission is to educate children and adults about our natural world, preserve the land and its legacy for future generations and model responsible stewardship of our environment.
Through our education, stewardship and conservation programs we serve 41,000 people each year. Our 232-acre home base in Woodstock, MD, is open dawn to dusk daily for the community to enjoy our 5 miles of trails, community and pollinator gardens and historic farmstead buildings. We also operate a nature preschool in Elkridge, MD.
