After just a few minutes with young environmentalists Chloe Maxmin and Alex Hadik, the old slogan “Think Globally, Act Locally” suddenly seems a bit outdated.
Maxmin and Hadik, students at Lincoln Academy, have had enormous success with their local Climate Action Club (CAC), but as students of the Internet age, they are well positioned both to think, and to act, globally, which is exactly what they are doing with their latest project.
In a more modern twist on the old slogan, Maxmin and Hadik have recently founded “First Here, Then Everywhere,” an on-line resource for young environmental activists across the globe.
Their plan recently won them a grant award from New Hampshire based Youth Venture, which funds youth led projects for change. Matthew Crandall of Youth Venture said that Hadik and Maxmin impressed the panel with their proposal, and their ability to “think big.”
“They’re taking the success of their local action to the next level,” Crandall said. “They’re thinking and acting on a larger scale, regionally, nationally and even globally. This is what impressed us, their ability to imagine big things, and not to just settle with the success they’ve already had.”
Maxmin came to environmental activism after protesting the proposed Plumb Creek development in the Moosehead region. Once an active snowmobiler in that area, Maxmin testified at public hearings protesting the development.
Shortly after arriving at Lincoln Academy, Maxmin founded the Climate Action Club. She said the club has “10 or 12 active members,” of which Hadik is one. Hadik said that the first person he heard speak at Lincoln Academy during his freshman year was Maxmin.
“I was always interested in environmental issues, but I never had an outlet for that interest,” he said. “Hearing Chloe speak gave me that outlet.”
Now, Hadik is not only an active member of CAC, but part of the new leadership team that will take over when Maxmin leaves for college next year.
Their list of Climate Action Club accomplishments is long. In addition to a highly successful reusable bag campaign, CAC has also helped secure an energy audit for the school, instituted a “no idling” campaign, and helped organize battery and cartridge recycling programs.
They have also had enormous success with their vending machine miser campaign, which uses motion sensors to turn vending machines off during low use times. Initial assessments are that the first motion sensor installed has produced an energy savings of 30 percent on one vending machine, and as a result, an anonymous donor has agreed to purchase five additional sensors for the school.
Maxmin said it was local activist Paul Kando who turned them on to Youth Venture, and this is actually their second grant through the program.
Hadik describes their current project as two tiered. First, they will set up a social networking site for young environmentalists around the world. Later they will create and share “tangible resources” like on-line tool kits and a “unified system” for sharing project results.
“We want to enable young activists to act,” Hadik said.
“We want to share what we’ve learned,” Maxmin said. “The goal is to unite youth across the globe.”
Maxmin and Hadik are already in communication with fellow activists from eight other countries and it seems clear that they are poised for even more success in the years to come.
